Pinner Fair

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Wed 29 May 2013

According to the Calendar of Charter Rolls 1327-41, Pinner was granted a Royal Charter by Edward III in 1336. A licence was given for 'one market each week on Wednesday at [the] manor of Pynnore … and two fairs there each year … one that is on the vigil and the morrow of St John the Baptist and the other on the day and the morrow of the Beheading of St John the Baptist … in perpetuity.' No additional reference has been made to the weekly market and only the first annual fair has survived. As the village's patron saint is John the Baptist (the parish church is dedicated to him) the fair was generally held on 24 June, his saint's day. By 1831 a poster shows that it was held on the Wednesday after Whitsun (now the late spring Bank Holiday) and that is now the accepted date.



The modern day fair in Pinner is unusual as the stalls and rides are set up along the old High Street, and the more modern Bridge Street and Marsh Road. It can feel a little claustrophobic when you first see white knuckle rides spinning and tossing over your head, and the noises seem much louder as they are so close.



The people who run the fair have to remain outside the village during the Tuesday, buses are re-routed and parking restrictions implemented. At around 5pm the fairground rides start to arrive in the village centre and the stalls are set up, ready for the following day.



Many of the rides are up and running by about 8am on Wednesday, some of them offering reductions for younger children. As the day progresses people of all ages arrive in Pinner. The rides are at full price from the afternoon onwards and the village resonates to the sounds of fairground music as well as to the aromas of fried onions, burgers, hot dogs and candy floss.



By midnight the fair is over for another year. If you come into Pinner on Thursday morning you would have no idea that it had even taken place.

#may
#pinner
#outdoor
#kids
#fun_things_to_do
#family_attractions
#family
#community_events
!date 29/05/2013 -- 29/05/2013
%wnlondon