A brief history of St Lawrence Fair

St Lawrence Fair, Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex - image by Claire Brewer

St Lawrence Fair is one of the biggest events in the village of Hurstpierpoint.

Since the 14th Century the village of Hurstpierpoint has celebrated the Feast of St Lawrence with a village fair. The fair is one of the oldest in the United Kingdom.

King Edward II granted a charter which allowed one fair a year to be held to celebrate St Lawrence, the patron saint of the village. Historians say that the fair has taken place every year since then, breaking only during World Wars I and II. In the years between the wars, it was used as a means of raising money for local hospitals.

More than just a village fete the fair spreads over several days with a funfair, carnival procession, fun run through the village and a range of competitions and events for local children, including a Teddy Bear’s Picnic.

The Harris Brothers Funfair has been the central attraction of the fair since the early years of the last century, and is on South Avenue Recreation Ground for the week.  The Fair is not only a chance for the village to let its hair down, but also an opportunity to raise money for local charities.

In about 1775, the Fair moved to May and stayed there for many years. In the twentieth century it was sometimes called ‘Hospital Saturday’ and later the Fair was called Hurstpierpoint Carnival.  The name of St Lawrence was restored by Theo Franklin, soon after he became Rector in 1954.

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What follows, is a guide for our Ukrainian guests in the village…

Що таке вогонь Святого Лаврентія?

Ласкаво просимо в містечко! Наступного місяця відбудеться ярмарок Святого Лаврентія, одне з найбільших подій в нашому місті. З 14 століття місто Херстп’єрпойнт відзначає свято Святого Лаврентія сільським ярмарком. Цей ярмарок є одним із найстаріших в Сполученому Королівстві.

Король Едвард II видав статут, якій дозволяв проводити один ярмарок в рік на честь Святого Лаврентія, покровителя міста. Історики стверджують, що відтоді ярмарок проводиться щороку, і був перерваний тільки під час Першої і Другої світових воєн. У роки між війнами вона використовувалася як засіб збору грошей для місцевих лікарень.

Більше, ніж просто свято, ярмарок триває декілька днів з луна-парком, карнавальною ходою, веселим бігом по містечку, низкою змагань і заходів для місцевих дітей, включаючи пікнік ведмедика Тедді.

Ярмарка братів Гарріс є центром уваги ярмарку з ранніх років минулого століття, і знаходиться на Південній авеню в місці відпочинку протягом тижня. Ярмарок — це не тільки шанс для містечка відпочити, а й можливість зібрати гроші для місцевих благодійних організацій.

Приблизно в 1775 році ярмарок переїхав до Маю і проводився там багато років. У двадцятому столітті його іноді називали 'лікарняною суботою', а пізніше ярмарок називали Карнавалом Херстп’єрпойнт. Ім'я Святого Лаврентія було відновлено Тео Франкліном, незабаром після того, як він став ректором у 1954 році.

Сподіваємося, що Вам сподобається Ваш перший ярмарок Святого Лаврентія!

St Lawrence Fair 2019 - Hurstpierpoint

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Children’s Events for St Lawrence Fair 2019

Not long to go until the 2019 Fair - we hope to see you all there. On the page opposite you will find the events that are taking place running up to the Fair. We will give you the procession route and full schedule for Fair Saturday in next month’s issue.

Talking about the procession, last year was exceptionally hot and we have decided that we need a plan if it is as hot (or hideously wet) for the well-being of our processioners! With this in mind, if it is very hot or very wet we will turn left out of Marchants Road and come straight up Cuckfield Road to the roundabout and along the High Street, cutting out the middle of Cuckfield Road and Western Road and coming past the Church. We have to think about our lovely walkers and Marching Band - we hope you understand. We will take the decision about this on the Friday late afternoon and publicise it as much as possible. All procession participants will be contacted and told at this time and the procession will leave later as it will not take as long to get around the shortened route.

Now onto something we think is quite exciting - we will have six VIP tables (to seat 10) available for sale for our Friday Bands and BBQ. These will be £100 and have a great location for watching the music and getting to HurstBarPoint. If you would like a table please email: stlawrencefair @gmail.com. First come, first paid, first served!

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St Lawrence Fair Fun Run - 6th July 2019

By Mike Thatcher

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St Lawrence Fair Fun Run in Hurstpierpoint

Although the St Lawrence Fair seems a long way off, preparation is already underway, and perhaps none more so than for anyone who is thinking of entering the Fun Run this year. It has become an integral part of Fair Day and I met with race organiser Benny Coxhill along with two of last year’s winners Laura O’Grady Serrut and Freddie Shalloe.

First conceived by Andrew Priddell, it used to be a much longer route, up to ten miles and going up Wolstonbury twice. Benny then got involved: “I used to see it go past my house in Bedlam Street and think I would like to do that, so I started training but that was the year they stopped running it! A group of us revived it about 20 years ago.”

Benny took over the running of the event from Ian Bush ten years ago. “We usually get about 100 people in total, 60 or 70 for the long course and 20 or 30 for the short course, but it would be nice to have a few more.

We have had all sorts of runners over the years. Some serious runners; people have come from Scotland and even the Netherlands, so you get all sorts of people.”

The long course goes over the top of Wolstonbury Hill and is just over five miles long. The shorter course cuts towards Danny House and over the fields and is close to a mile and half long. There’s a short stretch of road on New Way Lane, and the race organisers are grateful to Danny House as they need permission to run on the drive. It can be a moment to frighten or inspire the runners according to Benny: “You can see the great hill behind the house and think I’ve got to go up there!”

As much as anything, the race couldn’t be run without volunteers. Benny is particularly grateful for one group’s help: “The Army Cadets are really good. They are from Hurst but also recruit from other branches. They are great, and they do whatever is asked of them.”

If helping out at a water station appeals to you then please let Benny know. It’s a great job for dog walkers who don’t mind waiting somewhere on the route for an hour. As Laura said: “It gets really hot during the race, so we are really grateful for the water stations and volunteers.”

Race Day is Saturday 6th July this year. If you can help in any way email: stlawrencefair.funrun at gmail.com.

Hey Mr DJ fundraising event for Village Fair

By Rupert Bates

She mixes dubstep, electro and progressive house into a distinctive Sussex scout hut dance sound and has been hailed as a genre-defining musical entity the world needs more of.

But enough about Rachael Babister, who along with Tara McHale is once again organizing Hurstpierpoint’s Hey Mr DJ event in aid of the Village Fair.

Hey Mr DJ will take place on Saturday May 6th from 7.30pm in the Hurstpierpoint Scout Hut and those looking to channel their inner Guetta or Garrix, or even Sussex’s very own Fatboy Slim, can buy tickets and submit their top three tunes.

“Prior to the event we will draw at random the names of 14 DJs who will get the chance to spin the decks to their favourite songs, supervised by our very own professional DJ Emma Warner,” says Rachael.

“Emma, the only person I know who mixes DJ with IT, will make sure your mixing matches your magic and the dance floor keeps jumping all night. At the end of the evening we will crown the Superstar DJ – the one who gets the most people on the dance floor.”

Emma, or rather DJ-Em-Z, has a love for all genres of music – currently specialising in house and funk. The likes of Madonna, Queen, Blondie, Rick Astley, The Cure, Adam Ant and even opera and folk, have all played their part in making her as she modestly claims ‘one of the top ten female DJs in Hurstpierpoint!’

If you would information on buying tickets (£10) for Hey Mr DJ or would like to help the Village Fair in any way, please email: stlawrencefair@gmail.com

Ready, set, go for St Lawrence Fair - Hurstpierpoint.

The St Lawrence Fair, Hurstpierpoint, is finally here with the main fair day on Saturday 4th July.
     In addition to the Hollywood-themed procession, which starts at 1pm from Marchants Road, there will also be a number of other highlights including the pet show, treasure hunt and the St Lawrence Fair Fun Run. The long course (about 5 miles) starts at 2.50pm from the main Fair ground, and the short course (about 1.5 miles) follows at 3.10pm. Both races take a circular route around the village. Adults entry will be £5 per runner and under 16s can take part for £2.50.
     Back at the Fair, the winners of Hurst’s Got Talent 2015 will be performing to officially open the fair, there will be tug of war trials plus more, all headed up by Master of Ceremonies Mike Hudson. 
     Also, there is still time to spot the ‘superstars’ in High Street windows until 2nd July!

For more details please click here.