Findon Village Antiquities www.findonvillage.com

THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.

THE 50-50 CHANCE

First published in the West Sussex Gazette in September 1999.

I was afraid that Findon's ancient Sheep Fair was in danger of being scrapped in 1999 due to the rapidly plunging livestock prices and a dramatic decline in the number of animals. Originally there was only a 50-50 chance of sheep being auctioned on 11th September and I was really concerned that the annual Sheep Fair would fall by the wayside. Over the years the number of sheep penned has drastically declined from 20,000 in the 1960s.

Mr. Huggett the shepherd from Lychpole Farm at the Findon Sheep Fair in 1964. Photograph by John Pelling.

In a desperate bid to keep the Fair afloat, a committee was formed in 1999 with the aim of enhancing the event with additional attractions. The auctioneers eventually agreed to go ahead and the famous Findon Sheep Fair was baa-ck on the menu.

How did the Sheep Fair of 1999 compare with the fairs on Nepcote Green in the past? The occasion has always been a great social occasion in the village calendar. Fair gatherings go back seven and a half centuries to 1261 when a charter was originally granted by King Henry III to hold a fair in Findon. Sheep probably exchanged hands at this early event and it may well have been the first Findon Sheep Fair.

Today, the historic Sheep Fair reminds us that the Findon downland was formerly open sheep-walk. The downs were once vast stretches covered with sweet smelling downland grass, on which one could walk free from posts and wire fences for tens of miles. Huge flocks of sheep and shepherds with their dogs roamed at will all day long.

Katie and Suzie the Shetland Sheepdog pups in sheep country below Cissbury Ring in the summer of 1999.

Old shepherds and weather-beaten drovers played an important role over the centuries and in years gone by they drove their sheep over many miles to the Findon Sheep Fair. Sometimes they even started the previous day and slept under the hedgerows overnight en route. The lucky ones left home very early in the morning to walk with their sheep to the auction. Yesterday's shepherds were instantly recognisable. As well as often being wizened, bent and browned by the sun, they were dressed in their garb of finely worked smocked round-frocks and leggings. Each shepherd always, but always, carried his metal-crooked staff — as if it were an extension of his arm.

Everyone in Findon kept their garden gate firmly closed when the flocks were passing. The quiet village lanes were ankle-deep in manure when the shepherds drove their charges to the Findon Fair in its heyday.

The white bearded shepherds of the past filled an important niche in agriculture and were treated as old friends, rather than servants of their masters. Their wisdom and advice was sought on all manner of work on the land. Their wages had always been low but more often than not they held by inheritance a small parcel of land described as the "tenanting". On this they ran between thirty and forty ewes of their own alongside the farmer's flock and received payment pro-rata when the animals were sold at the Findon Sheep Fair.

Sheep belonging to Oscar E. Pyle of Southdown Farm being driven from Angmering and meandering over Long Furlong on the way to the Findon Sheep Fair on 14th September 1935. Oscar Pyle owned a famous Southdown flock. Tolmare Farm in Findon can be seen in the distance.

An Austin pulls up to let them pass in 1936.

In July 2004 I met Wendy Gregory from Angmering in the Findon Post Office and she told me that her Grandfather was the shepherd, Albert Reed (known as Bert) in the above photograph. She said that Bert was the one with his back to the camera and wearing a cap! Take your pick! During the his working life, Bert was also employed as a shepherd by the Wyatt family on the Cissbury Estate at Nepcote. He was quite a character and in 1929 he went to Crystal Palce to do a talk show on shepherding for television.

In those far off days when the sheep wattle pens stretched the length and breadth of the Green, it did not seem possible that anyone could contemplate an end to that well established institution, the Findon Sheep Fair.

On Tuesday 7th September 1999 the Harris's large fairground lorries started arriving on Nepcote Green and continued to rumble through Nepcote until eleven o'clock that night. Robert Harris, whose family has been attending the fair for over a hundred years, said they came for the tradition of the Sheep Fair each year and did not expect to make a profit.

On Friday evening, 10th September, the traditional roundabout, fun fair and side-shows opened. The sound of music drifted across the open space. Informal folk music and dancing in the form of a Ceilidh took place. "What is a Ceilidh?" some asked beforehand. They soon discovered it was a modern form of barn dancing with jigs and reels. This was conducted in a marquee erected on an area previously mowed by Ian Ticehurst of Findon Garden Machinery. Ian, Chairman of the Sheep Fair & Village Festival Committee, said he had thoroughly enjoyed the preparation for the day and it had gone much smoother than he dared hope. He believes that the event will be bigger and better next year.

Findon Sheep Fair from Church Hill in 1999.

With glorious sun on Saturday 11th, the day kicked off with the sheep auction. This started a little after the scheduled time of 10.30 a.m. for those impatient to bid amongst the hustle and bustle. Interested parties sauntered around prodding and poking as they pondered the merits of the 2,000 ewes and 200 rams and pure bred ewes penned for sale. A pitiful number in comparison to the days when they were packed in their wattle pens literally covering the Green. The Findon Parish Council and local businesses provided £250 in sponsorship in the way of prize money for the buyers and sellers.

For the rest of humanity, away from the plaintive bleat of the pens, there was a display to be seen in the Wattle House; photographs of historic Findon; tombola; enticing food stalls and crafts, including wattle and walking stick making. There was a minor hitch in the form of a traffic jam in Findon's narrow lanes that only led to prove how popular the day was. A new venture for canine enthusiasts in the form of an Exemption Dog Show with seventeen classes was well attended and took place in an adjoining field to the north of the Green.

Katie and Suzie the Shetland Sheepdog pups.

Suzie and Katie enjoying the Sheep Fair on the day. (Photograph by Bill Shimmin and printed in the West Sussex Gazette in September 1999).

The day ended with additional attractions on the Green. First, an eighteen-strong barber-shop singing group. They surprisingly held an impromptu rehearsal, standing on the bed of the dried up pond, before moving to their designated marquee. Here they sang courageously above the thumping of the fun fair generators. The "Folk on the Green" finale then commenced — an evening of entertainment enveloped Nepcote Green. This was with "Deebee" who performed a mixture of country, bluegrass, skiffle and contemporary folk music —and soon the sound of a saxophone drew the crowds. The organisers hope this will be a regular attraction if the Findon Sheep Fair manages to struggle into the next millennium.

Findon Sheep Fair 1999.

With the backing of Robert Harris's fair and the Findon Sheep Fair & Village Festival Committee the day will surely be back on the calendar next year regardless of the future of the sale of sheep.

Continue if you would like to read about the Sheep Fair 2000.

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THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created by Valerie Martin exclusively for documenting life in Findon.

E-mail: valeriemartin@findonvillage.com