 What sheepdogs do after the Findon Sheep Fair is over |
THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.
FINDON SHEEP FAIR 2004
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What sheepdogs do after the Findon Sheep Fair is over |
Copyright Valerie Martin 2003
Gone are the days when all you would hear on Sheep Fair Day was the baa-baa of sheep and the patter-patter as thousands of sheep as they trotted through Findon and the road was thick with their droppings.
The Sheep Fair (held each September) is still with us.... and the Iron Age Fort above us is here forever.
For hundreds of years Findon has staged an annual sheep fair in September the the year 2004 will be no exception. In 1964 there were nearly 19,000 sheep there; last year there were only 18.
Foot and mouth, and subsequent legislation stops Findon auctioning sheep for sale and transport, is to blame. That and the the declining sheep population of the South Downs, which stands at about 100,000. There is room for more than a million sheep.
The Harris fair enterprise is now seriously threatened also and may soon have to pack up as they can squeeze no more out of the job and all the fun of the fair is diminishing. The work is usually conducted on a one-day affair each week — only on Saturday afternoons and evenings and they can no longer earn enough to make a profit. The rest of the week is taken up with travelling and erecting the fair and dismantling again. A mammouth task you will have no doubt witnessed on Nepcote Green.
Robert Harris is the fourth generation of the Harris family to run the famous fair with his four brothers.
The business is conducted from nearby Ashington (just north of Findon on the A24) and travels a radius of some 80 miles (years ago it would have been further). It was one of the first fairs to open in the 1870s on Brighton racecourse.
In years gone by, the costs of running the fair were a lot lower with the now added burden of insurance, rising wages etc.
The costs of the "rides" many moons ago at the fair were a penny.... by the 1960s they were sixpence..... for the past few years they have been £1. The passage of time leaves the Harris brothers in a sorry state and they are now struggling to keep an old tradition on the road. If things go on as they are at the present, you may not see them on Findon Sheep Fair Day (which is itself sadly diminishing) much longer.
 Nepcote Green in May 2004. |
Nevertheless, the Harris brothers are not giving in without a fight and have a full calendar booked for 2004 and make a start during the first week of March. They have point-to-points to attend, steam venues, flower shows and events... and, of course, the Dorset Steam Fair which is a large affair ..... and if goes without saying that in September they will be in action at that famous venue of all time on Nepcote Green, the Findon Sheep Fair..... even if there aren't any sheep to be auctioned!
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This is a photograph from the past of a shepherd at a farm in Ditchling. I would put my money on the fact that he visited Findon Sheep Fair in his day. |
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2nd February 2004. Hi Valerie A little snippet of news that's come my way.
As no doubt you were probably aware, Ian Ticehurst was
going to resign as Chairman of the Sheep Fair committee.
However, I have just heard through the Findon grapevine, that this is not now the case, and he has, we are pleased to say, been voted again, Chairman for the year 2004.
I think that Ian, and the rest of the committee, do an
excellent job, and work tirelessly throughout the year organizing tasks
that arise, in order to make the 2nd Saturday in September, a weekend
for all to enjoy, not only the residence of Findon, but also the
surrounding areas of West Sussex.
If in the future, we were to lose this historical event,
I feel we would all mourn it's loss, so keep up the good work Ian, and
indeed all the members of the Sheep Fair Committee.
Chris Gibbs.
Christine Gibbs, Findon Village, West Sussex.
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Sheep on the Cissbury Estate, June 2004, returning to their field after being sheared. |
This is the schedule for this year's Findon Sheep Fair and Village Festival:-
In 2004 no moles cluttered the Green with their excavations. Fortunately, or unfortunately (which ever way you look at it), Nepcote Green was virtually moleless in readiness for the 2004 Sheep Fair, thanks to the Findon Parish Council and Ron James our resident Findon Mole Eradicator.
Before they disappear from their habitat altogether, I thought it worth giving you a few facts on these little creatures who liked our Green so much.
A mole has a life span of up to 3 years and his
favourite dish is worms and he's a very active animal, working day and night
shifts and only ceasing for short periods of rest in-between. He (or
she to be politically correct) will only eat enough worms to satisfy his
appetite and any leftover worms come across are prevented from escaping by
biting off their heads. They are not wasted as he stores in a special part of
the tunnel, known as the mole's larder'. A Mole has 44 teeth, more than
any other mammal in Britain. Being fiercely territorial, he can use his
canine teeth to fight with other moles which invade its space.
Despite spending so much time in earth, he remains clean because his coat is a
waterproof one. His short fur can lay in any direction, so he can
move forwards or backwards in his tunnel, without jamming its hair in the
passages.
When he is tunnelling he can move around 6 kilos
of earth every 20 minutes or so. This is equivalent to us
moving 4 tons in the same time. He can do a complete u-turn
anywhere in his network of underground passages. Some physical skill
is involved in total darkness in a tunnel to be able to turn and go back the way
he came.
In the late 1800's moleskin clothing was the height of fashion and there were
professional mole catchers, known as "wanters",. Their sole job was
to kill and skin huge numbers of moles and by 1905 over a million skins a year
were being sold in London...... and twelve million a year were being shipped to
the States! Sudden thought.... didn't they have any moles over there
of their own?
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THE FAIR SETS UP THE ROUNDABOUT AND MAKES CAMP ON NEPCOTE GREEN IN READINESS FOR THE SHEEP FAIR.... If you walk by the fair lorries on Sheep Fair Day, do give them a second look...... they are Second World War vintage. The Matador vehicle is 1940. |
It was suggested to me by a Findonian this year that the caravans were, in fact, railway carriages. What a romantic thought....... carriages from a Victorian era. I put the question to Fred Harris...... and alas it is not the case..... although they do look rather reminiscent of the Wild West trains in cowboy films.
I know that many people laugh about a Sheep Fair without any sheep....... but what can we do. Early on Sheep Fair morning a handful of sheep arrived on .... and settled in a quiet corner in readiness for a shearing demonstration.
In the afternoon there was the dog show.... a grand meeting place for all dogs....
"I think I
could be a winner if I tried".
"I'm all
wrinkled up about this"
..... and then there were the cute ones who were not in the show at all..... they were just manning the antique stand....
In fact, a good day was had by all and these little ones were some of the last to leave.
Spied in the Worthing Herald dated 16th September 2004...
| We were most disappointed to find the Findon Sheep Fair nearly "sheepless" this year. We took our grandchildren to see the animals and to learn about sheep farming in Sussex. The only sheep there were three in a shearing demonstration. Can anyone explain the lack of sheep and tell us what is the point of a sheep fair without them? We know about the foot and mouth problems but sheep are still moved vast distances around the country, surely a few more at Findon would not pose a risk? Ann Harley, Lancing, West Sussex.
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Spied in the Worthing Herald dated 30th September 2004...
| RED TAPE HAS ENFORCED CHANGES AT SHEEP FAIR As a member of Findon annual sheep fair and village festival committee — this is a committee of Findon Council — I would like to respond to a letter from Mrs Ann Hartley. I am sorry Mrs Hartley's grandchildren were disappointed by the lack of sheep at the fair and I would like to try to explain why the committee is prevented from exhibiting sheep. It must be said that days of exhibiting sheep on Nepcote Green are unfortunately long gone. I have seen a brochure from one fair held in the mid '80s announcing the sale of up to 15,000 sheep. Over the years, following changes in farming and marketing practice, the numbers presented for auction deteriorated to under 3,000 sheep. Just prior to the foot and mouth disease outbreak, the committee subsidised the event to enable an auction to take place and the following year the auctioneers declared auctions were no longer viable. As a result, the committee was formed to ensure the continuation of the 200-year-old event. The committee was balked in its aim by the outbreak of foot and mouth disease. The government ruled that in order to bring sheep onto a grass field and then returned to the farm, a precautionary procedure must be followed because of the risk of contaminating the field. Guidance notes issued by DEFRA amount to 36 sheets of A4 paper, most of which are doubled-sided. The measures include the appointment of an officer to be present throughout and responsible to ministry inspectors for compliance to a set of hygiene rules. The rules require the details of farmers, handlers and hauliers to be recorded on entry to a fenced "animal area" containing the sheepfolds and the vehicles. Those entering the sheepfolds must be correctly dressed and, when leaving, must wash their footwear and clothing. Staff must wash and disinfect the wheels and arches of transport vehicles. Vehicles must be washed out inside, on returning to the farms. Very few farmers are prepared to follow such stringent rules. However, it remains a positive aim of the committee that sheep will again return to the fair sometime in the future, albeit only for exhibiting breeds, certainly not for auctioning. Tony Page, Findon Village, West Sussex.
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I heard it muted afterwards that the Celebration Samba was not the success it is made out to be on Sheep Fair Day. For the last two years the participants had been performing directly outside the Wattle House. It has been muttered that this caused congestion in that area!
The music from Celebration Samba was apparently deafening for anyone nearby. It also caused people to leave the Wattle House and marquee area.
What about moving Celebration Samba (that's if it is going to be around in 2005) to a more isolated spot on Nepcote Green and, thereby, spreading the public out and keeping people moving. It's only a suggestion....
It has also been said that the Sheep Fair in 2004 had declined to being more like a "Car Boot Sale". If you attended the day on Nepcote Green, what did you think....
| 20th September 2004 Findon Sheep Fair Firstly I would like to thank all of the committee who work very hard in preparation and extremely hard over the weekend to produce this event which we think is a very important part of this village's history and should go on into the future. I am standing down as chairman this year, I think it is time for some new and fresh ideas! Anyone out there who would like to get involved please
contact me and I will pass their details on. Ian Ticehurst, Findon Village, West
Sussex. |
Continue if you would like to read about the Findon Sheep Fair 2005.
This is Findon Village — www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created by Valerie Martin exclusively for documenting life in Findon.
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E-mail: valeriemartin@findonvillage.com |
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