| Stow Green Hill | |
|---|---|
  Stow Green Hill Location within Lincolnshire | |
| OS grid reference | TF094350 |
| • London | 100 mi (160 km) S |
| Civil parish | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SLEAFORD |
| Postcode district | NG34 |
| Police | Lincolnshire |
| Fire | Lincolnshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
Stow Fair was an English medieval fair inaugurated in 1233 and held at Stow Green Hill in Lincolnshire.[1]
The Prior of Sempringham was granted permission in 1268 to hold this annual fair, from 23 to 25 June,[2] confirming an earlier charter.[citation needed] The fair continued until living memory,[vague] being run as a horse fair until 1954.
It seems likely that earlier fairs were held on the same days, one of which is the feast day of St Ætheldreda, long associated with the site. Historian Graham Platts' view is that there should be scepticism over a belief that the fair developed from earlier summer solstice rites.[3]
The North Kesteven Council has erected an information board at the site, with historical text and a photograph of the horse fair in 1908.
- ^ "'Lincolnshire', Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales to 1516 (2005)".
- ^ Platts, Graham (1985); Land and People in Medieval Lincolnshire (History of Lincolnshire, volume 4), appendix 1, History of Lincolnshire Committee for the Society for Lincolnshire History and Archaeology. ISBN 090266803X
- ^ Platts, Graham (1985); Land and People in Medieval Lincolnshire (History of Lincolnshire, volume 4), p. 143, History of Lincolnshire Committee for the Society for Lincolnshire History and Archaeology. ISBN 090266803X