Islington Council and London Museum have collaborated with a medieval fair to bring wider attention to the borough.
The Bartholomew Fayre, which took place in Charterhouse Square on Friday and Saturday, drew crowds with music, food, and the promise of a new cultural hub spurred by London Museum, which is projected to attract millions of visitors.
Matthew Bell, City Councillor and London Museum board member, said the museum will consider adopting the fair in the future, a move which could secure its place and funding for years to come.
Meanwhile, Islington Council financed most of this year’s event to revive Smithfield – and the neighbouring Clerkenwell – ahead of the museum’s opening there in November, said Bartholomew Fayre committee member Oliver Bennett.
“Islington Council is investing in the area,” Bennett said.
“It’s very important for the Council that it doesn’t exclude, that it invigorates the space, and that it makes something of Bartholomew Fayre’s history.”
The medieval-themed festival pays homage to its namesake, an annual event first held in 1133.
Initially a trading event, the Fayre grew into one of England’s most important annual gatherings over the 722 years it ran, but was stamped out when Victorian-era morals clashed with its reputation as a ‘magnet of ne’er-do-wells’, according to Bennett.
But it’s this unique history which Bennett hopes to bring back to Islington.
He said: “We’re trying to show the fair as it was in its heyday.
“A lot of what happened wouldn’t even be legal now, and we want to evoke that.”
And while talks about the Museum of Sex Objects’ items and the Fayre’s history of animal cruelty surely shocked some, magician Ian Marchant and fiddle player Juliette Primrose provided plenty of child-friendly entertainment.
Nidi Robinson, a vendor from boutique House of Ohene, said she most enjoyed seeing adults and children gather for music and games in the square.
Others also praised the feeling of community at the event, which aimed to employ 70% of vendors and performers from within the surrounding area.
Ian Watson, who was promoting his debut novel at the Fayre, said: “It’s a lovely grassroots event. It’s great to feel connected to the community.”
Bell added he hopes new activities in Islington will continue to promote the community’s contributions to London.
“The museum opening at the end of the year would be a huge game changer for the area, and the fair, if it does continue, would blur the boundaries between the city and Islington,” he said.
“It would affect all those cultural gems for the better.”
While the historical fair’s future is not entirely clear, its organisers’ dedication to keeping it alive is.
Bennett added: “It was a place where mummers tried out their gigs next to a guy whose party trick was to turn his feet inside out.
“It’s too irresistible not to revive.”
All images taken by author
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