STAGSHAW BANK FAIR. English, Reel. England, Northumberland. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The tune, as "Stagshaw Bank", also was entered into a c. 1887 manuscript compiled by the Society of Antiquities, entitled "Airs and dance tunes collected and constructed by the Melodies Committee of the Newcastle Antiquarian Society, 1857-1887," a compendium of their collecting work of local Northumbrian tunes over several decades. Their work formed the basis from which much of the contents of Bruce & Stokoe's Northumbrian Minstrelsy is drawn, and continued for several years after the publication of that volume. The tune is thought to be the work of Robert Bewick.
Stagshaw Bank Common is located just south of the Roman Wall in Northumberland. For centuries it was the scene of two great annual fairs held on the day before Whit Sunday and on July 4th. From 1820 a third annual fair was held on November 24th. The fairs gradually died out during the last half of the 19th century. The following is an account of the fair c. 1850, written down in 1881 by Robert Forster[1]:
"Proclaiming Stagshaw Fair at Corbridge, Northumberland." Ralph Hedley, 1882.
This fair, which was one of business as well as pleasure, was the largest held inEngland for one day and for business people came to it from all parts of the UnitedKingdom. Besides horses, sheep, cattle, and swine, various articles of merchandisewere offered for sale, consisting of men's hats, boots and shoes, these articlesgenerally filled several stalls, the former being mostly from Hexham, and aconsiderable quantity of the latter from Corbridge. Jewellery and hardware stallswere prominent; saddlery and farming goods, such as hay rakes, forks, &c., werealways plentiful; and always a large supply of cooperage goods, such as tubs,barrel churns, &c. Webs of cloth coarse and fine were shown to advantage on thegreen carpet by the side of the pond. The far-famed gloves, known as the"Hexham Tans", suitable for all purposes and for all classes, always formednoticeable articles of sale. Care was always taken by some thoughtful businessman to make provision for the better part of man's nature. A great variety ofuseful books were shown, suitable for the most profound thinker as well as usefulfor the general reader. On the south side of the Horse Fair, in the distance yousaw a strong made man somewhat elevated, with a crowd around him offering articlesfor sale; on approaching, we observe that it is Mr. C..... from the once famousDog Bank, Newcastle, selling watches by auction, being for the most part forfeitedpledges, the auctioneer assuring the public that each watch he offered was farsuperior to the one just sold, as once belonging to some squire or gentleman whosename was well known in the neighbourhood This man regularly attended the fair for manyyears and had his share of business. Amidst all this whirl of busy life, the "littlebusy bee" was not forgotten, for there was always a good supply of "bee skeps," to meetthe wants of those whose were after the sweetness of honey in the comb. In all thearticles named and others not named, the day being favourable, a good trade was done,in fact this was almost the only opportunity during the whole year that numbers ofpersons, especially from the outlying districts, had of obtaining them.
The stomach, that important part of humanity was never once overlooked orforgotten; for the supply of immediate wants (outside the tents) there was anabundance. From a long row gingerbread and orange stalls could be heard some damecrying out lustily "boole up and buy a way," others were shouting at the top oftheir voice "London Spice twopence a package," while others displayed along thelength of their arm twenty-four squares of gingerbread offered at a shilling thelot; oranges, cherries, Barcelona nuts, &c.,were plentiful.The vendors of all thosearticles whose names were many, each striving to make as good a day's work aspossible, used all their skill to attract the attention of the public to thesuperior quality of their goods, "crack and try before you buy," with a measurehalf-filled with the bottom, was the ditty of the nut mongers, making the fair withother clatter, often mingled with the roar of Wombwell's lion's, almost a Babel. Itis stated by one who took notes on these occasions, that tons of gingerbread andship loads of oranges were devoured on that day. In addition to what was consumed inthe fair, immense quantities were carried home, for it was the custom for almosteveryone to do so, carrying it in their pockets or handkerchiefs (for there were nobags in those days), and this was called "their fair". The usual kind of drinkwas ale of which a considerable quantity was used; as this was long before thedays of teetotalism, few had any scruple to take as much at least as to quenchtheir thirst, in fact no other beverage was thought of or provided; notwithstandingthis, the writer is persuaded, all things considered, there was less intemperancethan at the present time amongst similar gatherings.
To the thoughtless and giddy, this fair held out many temptations, all the little
'gambling arts which were then in use were in full swing; two of the most notablein this class, we notice. -That well-known character, the famous showman of theNorth "Billy Purvis", a man of many parts, attended regularly for nearly ageneration. He had a booth, inside of which it is said he performed wonderfulsleight-of-hand tricks, without the aid of apparatus. From the stage outside hisbooth, could be heard at a considerable distance, his stentorian voiceshouting "come this way and see wor show", which at once let you know thewhereabouts of "Billy," who with his painted face and gaudy dress, with hiswitticisms, drollery and gestures, always attracted great attention; poor Billyhas long since ceased to walk on a broader stage than that of his booth, havinglaid down his load of life in Hartlepool, and this place knows him no more. Anotherwell-known character, a queer little hunchback fellow, who was known by thecognomen of "wallop-a-way" attended equally with "Billy," his vocation alwaysappeared to be a simple way of getting a few pence, and could hardly come withinthe range of gambling. He was a noisy little fellow; shouting all day long "a pennya throw, a penny a throw, miss my pegs and hit my legs." He always had a good numberof onlookers, and did a good share of business principally amongst the juveniles;poor fellow, he has long since followed in the wake of "Billy" and his voice isheard no more. Many shows were there of different sorts, the most attractive beingthat of Wombwell's collection of wild beasts, &c. The writer well recollects when ayouth his first look at this wonderful exhibition as being a grand sight, andrecollects also a little incident which occurred at the time. A woman who waswalking too near the side of the cages, of which in an upper apartment were kepta number of monkeys was eyed by one of them, which quietly pushing his long legthrough betwixt the bars of the cage, and with his paw unceremoniously pulled offthe crown of her bonnet, to the no little dismay of the good lady. At one time therewere besides Wombwell's two other large collections owned by persons of the namesof "Pit Cock" and "Polito," these exhibitions invariably secured a large attendance.Now to return to Corbridge from which we have somewhat (we trust not uninterestingly)wandered. On the afternoon of that day it used to be said that Corbridge could beeasily taken. For business, persons attended the fair in the forenoon and those forpleasure in the afternoon; those who had been doing business returning again in theafternoons when few only were left, as the old and infirm, the sick, and mere children,and a few others whose home duties necessitated their remaining. The exodus homewardscommenced about five o'clock which increased to about seven when it became general;by eight o'clock, the great proportion of pleasure seekers as well as those of businesswere wending their way home which many of them could not reach before morning; such isbrief outline of the doings of the busy multitudes on that once great day, as Corbridgewas the thoroughfare for nearly all who came from the south.
It is difficult to visualize the bustle of this great fair when you visittoday the lonely spot where this immense gathering took place.
Additional notes
Printed sources : - Bruce & Stokoe (Northumbrian Minstrelsy), 1882; p. 168.
