Nottingham Goose Fair

"Goose Fair" redirects here. For the fair in Tavistock, Devon, see Goosey Fair. For the China Drum album, see Goosefair.

Nottingham Goose Fair
Aerial view of Nottingham Goose Fair in 2007
GenreFairground, funfair
FrequencyAnnual
Location(s)Forest Recreation Ground, Nottingham, United Kingdom
Years active739–740 years
Inaugurated1284 (1284) (Royal Charter)
Most recent27 September 2024 (2024-09-27) – 6 October 2024 (2024-10-06)
Next event2025
Attendance420,000 (in 2019)[1]
CapacityUnlimited (at police discretion)
Patron(s)Queen Camilla
Organised byNottingham City Council

The Nottingham Goose Fair is an annual travelling funfair held at the Forest Recreation Ground in Nottingham, England, during the first week of October.[2] Largely provided by travelling Showmen, it is one of three established fairs in the United Kingdom to carry the name, the others being the smaller Goosey Fair in Tavistock, Devon, and the even smaller Michaelmas Goose Fayre in Colyford, East Devon. In recent years, there have been more than 400,000 visitors to Nottingham's fair annually.[3]

Now known for its fairground rides and attractions,[4] Goose Fair started as a livestock and trade event, with a reputation for its excellent cheese.[5] The name "Goose Fair" is derived from the thousands of geese that were driven from the Lincolnshire fens in the East of England to be sold in Nottingham at the fair each year.[5]

In 1284, a royal charter was granted by King Edward I that referred to city fairs in Nottingham,[6] although it is thought that a fair was already established in the city before then.[5] Goose Fair was originally held for eight days starting on 21 September, but was moved to early October in 1752, when the Gregorian calendar was first adopted in Britain.[6] For centuries, the fair was held in Nottingham's Old Market Square in the city centre, until it was moved to the Forest Recreation Ground in 1928, due to space limitations and planned redevelopment of the market square.[7]

Goose Fair was cancelled in 1646 after an outbreak of the bubonic plague, and again during the two World Wars of the 20th century.[4] The fair was not held in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic,[8] and was cancelled in 2021 for the second year running, after plans for an entrance fee and perimeter fencing were rejected by the organisers.[9] For 2022, as of March, negotiations were underway to extend the fair's normal five-day duration to ten days.[10][11]

Goose Fair's spinning swing carousel, illuminated at night in 2012
  1. ^ Nottingham's Goose Fair 2022: Dates, opening times and all you need to know. Nottingham Post. 6 September 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  2. ^ "Nottingham Fair". nottinghamfair.com. Archived from the original on 18 December 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  3. ^ Nottingham City Council. "Goose Fair is cancelled for 2020 following Covid restrictions". My Nottingham News.
  4. ^ a b "History of Goose Fair". BBC Nottingham. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  5. ^ a b c "History of Goose Fair – outdoor exhibition". visit-nottinghamshire.co.uk. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  6. ^ a b Earp, Joe (30 September 2013). "Origins of Nottingham's Goose Fair". Nottingham Hidden History Team. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  7. ^ "History of Goose Fair". Nottingham City Council. 12 April 2011. Archived from the original on 9 August 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBCCovid was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Covid: Nottingham's Goose Fair called off for second year running". BBC News. 20 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  10. ^ Nottingham's Goose Fair is back and could last longer than ever before Nottinghamshire Live, 22 March 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2022
  11. ^ Nottingham's Goose Fair set to return as a special ten-day event ITV, 22 March 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2022