Reach, Cambridgeshire - Reach Fair

Reach Fair

The village is scene of the Reach Fair, one of England's oldest festivals.

The Fair was originally held annually at Rogationtide (which replaced the pagan festival of May Day) and is now held every May Day Bank Holiday. Officially run by the Cambridge Corporation and opened annually by the Mayor of Cambridge, it has been an annual event for over 800 years since receiving its charter in 1201 from King John. Reach Fair was historically a grand regional occasion, hosting feasting and parades over three days. The Fair is held on the central Fair Green, and probably extended down further to Reach Lode in its earlier days. In 2001, on the 800th anniversary of the fair, a plaque commemorating the charter was unveiled on Hill Farm, one of the Fair Green's older buildings.

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