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

SHEEP FAIR 1984

Copyright Valerie Martin 2004

The above depicts a traditional day out for town and country folk at the  Findon Sheep Fair in September 1984.   It looks like standing room only.   How life has changed and the number of sheep has dwindled over the years and now we have none being auctioned.

Twenty years ago a local newspaper printed the words of doom "Imagine Findon's Nepcote Green without a Sheep Fair and it would be like thinking of bread without butter".  

It was thought that the all-time low had been hit in 1977 when there were only 4,000 entries.   Now we would be overjoyed to see so many.  

We still have Nepcote Green but no sheep to be auctioned.

In 1984 crowds of visitors and spectators rubbed shoulders with the sheep farmers in checked chaps.  They chatted with their ruddy cheeked shepherds from throughout Sussex, Surrey and further afield.  They were all at Findon to witness the sheep auctions, to linger in the refreshment tents and to enjoy the fun of the sideshows, to mingle with the throng at the stands, or just stand and stare.  

A significant feature of the 1984 fair was the poor grazing that was to blame for the low numbers of sheep for sale.   There was an increase in young sheep but a drop in breeding ewes.   At the time both were attributed to the dry summer which had left land owners with poor grass.

The overall number of sheep for sale (more than 8,000) was down on previous years.   Just over 4,000 ewes went under the hammer, compared with a thousand more the year before.

The auctioneers, Geering and Churchman Burt said that many ewes had been sold off earlier in the season because of the drought.  The increase in shearling ewes for sale had come because farmers were selling off their flocks much earlier because of the poor grazing available to them.

The demand for lambs was strong but when younger ewes came before the auctioneer later in the afternoon, the prices had slackened off in 1984.

The following year, thousands of ewes and lambs once again congregated on Nepcote Green.    Some 7,760 animals, including 7,200 ewes and 560 rams were put up for the auction by Geering and Colyer of nearby Steyning.

Farmers from all over the country cast an expert eye over the flocks.   The stars of the show that year were the Southdown, Suffolk, Hampshire Down, Texel, Dorset Down, Greyface and Masham breeds, to name just a few.

Many animals stood motionless until it was their turn to be herded in front of the prospective buyers but one ram (obviously tired of waiting his turn) charged at a farmer and bowled him over into the straw.

In September 1987 the auctioneers of the Sheep Fair received a hammering when some of their methods were criticised by the Findon Parish Council.  

Handleys of Heathfield (who were running the fair for the first time), were attacked for the size of the sheep pens which were packed tightly with animals.

Sheep farmer and councillor, Hugh Wyatt of the Cissbury Estate, told the press how he could not fit all of his livestock into one of the pens and said that all pens were on the small side.

Ray Knight of Nepcote revealed that the RSPCA inspector had said that the pens were O.K. for the poor weather..... but if it had been a hot day it would have been another question.

Ray also criticised the preparation for the Fair in which hurdles had been thrown all around the Green.   Rather amusingly it was reported that he said —

"This was extremely dangerous for those of us who go up there at night".

Here is a photograph of the Sheep Fair one year later  .....

One fun fair a year was considered quite enough, thank you very much, said Findon Parish councillors back in 1989. 

A request from the Arun District Council to find new sites for fun fairs in the village was turned down flat. 

"We have one at the Sheep Fair on Nepcote Green every year, we do not need another one"

— so said the Chairman, Thelma Frederick.

Continue if you would like to read the Wattle House Drama.

This is Findon Village — www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created by Valerie Martin exclusively for documenting life in Findon.