In pictures: Historic Bampton Fair
Bampton Fair on the edge of Exmoor in Devon is one of the oldest charter fairs in England. This year's event on Thursday, 29 October 2009 is the 751st Bampton Fair. Photo: A print of Bampton Fair, 1860.
Bampton Fair existed even before King Henry III granted it a Royal Charter in 1258. Photo: Bampton Fair, circa 1897.
For centuries, the fair mainly sold sheep and cattle and was the largest sheep fair in the South West of England. Photo: Pony sales at Bampton Fair, 1900.
During the 1880s to the 1980s it evolved to become the famous Bampton Pony Fair trading in Exmoor ponies. Photo: Newton Square, Bampton Fair 1910.
Today this traditional Devon fair continues to attract local producers of foods and livestock, crafts and traditional skills from Exmoor and its surrounding villages. Photo: Cattle in Brook Street.
Probably the most significant addition to the fair in recent years is the return of the famous pony sales which had ended in 1985. Photo: Pony sales and the Tiverton Hotel, Bampton Fair 1945.
Fair organisers have returned to the event's roots, with traditional folk music being played live on fair day and over the weekend. Photo: Pony sales at Bampton Fair, 1981.
Archive photographs, film, songs, music and oral memories of the rich traditions and heritage of the fair itself have been compiled into a commemorative DVD and will be shown throughout Fair Day on 29 October 2009. Photo: Modern day Bampton Fair.
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