Bartholomew Fair

For the play by Ben Jonson, see Bartholomew Fair (play).

Crowds throng the streets filled with rides and lined with gaily lit buildings.
Bartholomew Fair as illustrated in 1808

The Bartholomew Fair was one of London's pre-eminent summer charter fairs. A charter for the fair was granted by King Henry I to fund the Priory of St Bartholomew in 1133. It took place each year on 24 August within the precincts of the Priory at West Smithfield, London until 1855 when it was banned due to causing public disturbances.