Goosey Fair

Tavistock Goose Fair, known locally as Goosey, or Goosie, Fair, is the annual fair in the stannary town of on the western edge of Dartmoor. It has been held on the second Wednesday of October since 1823 and it is one of only three historically established traditional fairs in the UK to carry the name, the other being the larger Nottingham Goose Fair, and the smaller Michaelmas Goose Fayre in Colyford, also in Devon.

Tavistock Goose Fair is one of the best known fairs in the West Country and has its ancient origins in the Michelmas fair that first came into being in the early 12th century. Adoption of the Gregorian calendar by Britain in 1752 necessitated a correction to the established dates of charter fairs, in this case moving Tavistock's fair from Michelmas day (29 September) to October 10. Whilst there appears to be little published evidence of the name ‘Goosey Fair’ prior to the first decade of the 20th Century, it seems likely that the name was in use locally in the eighteenth century.

The goose name itself probably arose out of the old tradition of buying geese at the Michelmas market to be fattened ready for Christmas Day as goose was the fowl of choice for the dinner table long before the arrival of the turkey from North America. An alternative theory is that the name is a corruption of St Eustachius (Saint Eustace), the Patron Saint of the Parish church whose day fell on 20 September, close to Michelmas. The livestock market on Whitchurch Road continues the tradition with live geese and poultry being available for sale at public auction on the day itself, whilst some of the town’s cafés and restaurants usually offer special goose themed menus.

Historically, the fair was mainly attended by the townsfolk, but the mix of visiting gypsy travellers, showmen, local miners and sailors from Devonport gave the fair a reputation for drunken behaviour and fighting. From the mid-1850s to the late 1960s, the Southern and GWR railway lines that once served Tavistock brought people in from outlying villages and the town's platforms were often awash with litter and drunken stragglers by the end of the day. Unlike today, in the early 20th century, people from other surrounding villages did not always travel to the fair partly because of its reputation but also from the fact that the journey had to be made on foot in the days before public road transport. The fair's rowdy atmosphere must have been in stark contrast to the more genteel charabanc picnic outings and paddle steamer excursions that were popular in the Tamar Valley area during the Edwardian era.

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