Bampton Charter Fair Thursday 30th October 2008 750th Anniversary of Royal Charter - Special Celebrations - Click here for infomation Bampton Fair existed even before King Henry III granted it a Royal Charter in 1258 and it is always held on the last Thursday of October. It is one of the oldest surviving Charter Fairs in the country. For centuries, the fair mainly sold sheep and cattle and was the largest sheep fair in the South West of England. During the 1880's to the 1980's it evolved to become the famous Bampton Pony Fair trading in Exmoor ponies. RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOK: "Bampton Fair and a Little Bit More" - CLICK HERE NEW DVD: Commemorative DVD on the 750 year history of the fair - details here. NEW PAGE on BBC web-site on history of the fair.

In 2004 we joined forces with Pennymoor Sing Around http://www.pennymoor.members.beeb.net , a local folk club, we were successful in obtaining a £25,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Bampton Fair is primarily about trade but with the added attraction of entertainment and so the money was used to regenerate the fair and improve its infrastructure, to encourage local producers of foods, crafts and traditional skills, to provide a host of entertainments in the streets, pubs and venues of Bampton including craft and music workshops, demonstrations and concerts, and the start of an archive collecting photographs, film, songs, music and oral memories of the rich traditions and heritage of the fair itself. Probably the most significant addition to the fair was the return of the famous pony sales which had ended in 1985.

In March 2005, the ‘Bampton Fair & After the Fair' project reached the last three finalists for projects in the South West of England for a Heritage Award by the National Lottery. We came second - an achievement of which we can be proud because Bampton Charter Fair and 'After the Fair' are run entirely by volunteers and we were up against two County Councils who have many resources and paid-for staff. We are also pleased that the Heritage Lottery Fund has recognised the importance Bampton Charter Fair has within our community and the value of preserving local tradition and heritage for future generations.

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(2004)

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