The fayre as it once would have been…

THE World’s oldest Fayre is returning to Charterhouse Square later this month.

Featuring music, entertainment, crafts, and food and drink stalls in the beloved square, The Bartholomew Fayre will also include a special headline performance by the immensely fitting Mediaeval Baebes.

Member of Fayre’s committee Oliver Bennett told the Tribune that this year’s Fayre reflects the spirit of its long-ago predecessor, which faced abolition in 1855 amid concerns about its audience’s sheer scale, ending a 700-year-old tradition.

“We’re trying to reclaim the sense of its medieval origins, cognate with a sense of the centrality of the area to contemporary London life,” Mr Bennett said. He described the original fayre as a hub of social cohesion – “a colourful expression of human life”.

He added: “I venture as far as to say it was the Glastonbury of its time.”

This year’s event has been billed as a “curtain raiser” for the London Museum, which has relocated to Smithfield Market and will open its doors in November.

Matthew Bell, now a museum governor, said the transition harkens back to the Fayre’s community-driven roots. “It will be going back to the stewardship of the people” he said.

Mr Bennett told how he hoped the fayre would highlight the area’s history, aided by talks and walks exploring Smithfield and Clerkenwell over the weekend.

Content Director Jackie Casey, known for her work on the Clerkenwell and Somers Town festivals, has curated this year’s line-up, which Mr Bennett assures will carry “elements of Medieval Punk”.

It will be free to attend, in keeping with its historic character.

“Bartholomew Fayre wasn’t gated, anybody could enter,” Mr Bennett added.

The event has received funding from Islington Council, and aims to draw people back into a stretch of Clerkenwell and Smithfield that Mr Bennett believes is fast becoming “the new centre of London”.

Even after a 168-year hiatus, then, it seems that an appetite for ale and dancing remains the staple of a good time.

The Bartholomew Fayre is on 18 and 19 September in Charterhouse Square.