480 



NATURE 



[September 5, 1907 



Krom other sources I liiid six more May (i fairs in 

 Wales and three November 8 fairs, in all Iwelve of the 

 former and six of the latter. Only in one place, 

 Llanfynydd, ('arm., 1 lind both days observed. 



Pcnsford, where both dates arc retained, is near Stanton 

 Drew, where .Sir Norman Lockyer has made out a .May 

 ali(<nMU'nt. .\l Lydney, tiloucestershire, a Roman inscrip- 

 tion has been found to the Oltic Neptune, .Vi/i/i; or l.ludd. 

 At llc.vham a similar inscription equates .Apollo with the 

 Celtic tJod Maponos. Duninuw's flitch of bacon should be 

 carefully studied. 



I think all will admit that the phrase " startling 

 parallelism " is no exaggeration when the case of Wilt- 

 shire is considered. When Sir Norman Lockyer ascer- 

 tained the age of Stonehenge from the alignment of the 

 avenue, he found evidence there of an earlier May-year 

 temple. Geoffrey of Monmouth fixes the earliest festival 

 he mentions as having been held at Stonehenge on the 

 Kalends of May. That must have been against his liking 

 as an ecclesiastic, and the next festival, held shortly after 

 the first, he fixes at Pentecost, the Church equivalent of 

 the May festival ; but Geoffrey never fixes a Church festival 

 where and when such a festival was an historical impossi- 

 bility. Therefore it is practically certain Stonehenge was 

 a May temple pure and simple in the fifth century a.d. 



Now Wiltshire heads the record with six fairs on May 6 

 and its equivalent May 17. So the astronomical, historical, 

 and ferial evidences point clearly to the preeminence of 

 Stonehenge as a May temple. No wonder the Welsh bards 

 claim it as one of the three chief Gorsedds. 



But what of the manifestly solstitial character of the 

 present ruins at Stonehenge? In Wiltshire seventeen out 

 of thirty May-year fairs arc held in May, but the May 

 year as such is nearly non est. May and .August com- 

 bine in one place, that is all. On the other hand, the 

 solstitial year in the county is a fairly well-balanced year. 

 There are five fairs held on the vernal equinox, five on 

 the summer solstice, eleven on the autumnal equinox, and 

 three on the winter soLstice, the last figure being quite 

 significant, as definite winter solstice fairs are very rare, 

 though, of course, as Christmas, It has no rival. 



Now, the local fairs connect the two series of facts in 

 the inost striking manner. " Amesbury, May 17, June 22." 

 So does Owen solve the riddle of Stonehenge. Chippen- 

 ham, May 17, June 22. Maiden Bradley, May 6, October 2 

 (O.S. for September 21). Mere, May 17, October 10 

 (O.S. for September 29, here very likely September 21 at 

 first). Ignoring the date May li, we have many other like 

 combinations, February 14 — October 2, .May 14 — ■ 

 September 25, July 10— August i. May 14— October 10, 

 May 12 — October 2, May 20 — September 23 — December 23, 

 May 7— October 8. .At Laycock we have only the two 

 solstices July 7 — December 21. 



Since the foregoing tables w^ere compiled, I have 

 discovered that the estimates for both the May and the 

 solstitial years are much too low, even on the incomplete 

 showing in Owen's list. The astronomical date is to be 

 looked for not only eleven days later, as, for instance. 

 May 17 at Amesbury for May li, but also eleven days 

 earlier. When immediately before 1752 .\.d. the solstice 

 was the eleventh, the date corresponding to our May 6 

 would be April 26. In 1824 there was a remarkable .series 

 of fairs eleven days before the May-year quarter-days 

 proper. This came out while I was searching for some 

 explanation of the strange fact that there is not a single 

 fair on February 4. I find them under Januarv 2-:,. 

 August 5 is the most popular survival of the old .August 

 quarter day, and the equivalent of that date is Julv 25, and 

 that of November 8 is October .20. As the tables given 

 above are sufficient to show the distribution and relative 

 prevalence of May-year fairs, it may suffice to add only the 

 pl.iccs where the overlooked series of fairs is found. 



January 25 (February 4). — Bentham, Bingley, Bodmin, 

 Chesterfield, Churchingford, Derbv, Kington (Warwick- 

 shire), Weasenham, Whittlesea in the Isle of F.ly. (Nine 

 fairs.) 



April 23 (M.ay 4).— Bewdley, Billesden, Bruton,' Campden, 

 Downton, Finchampstead, Great Bedwin, Hatfield, Hinton 

 St. George, Holywell, Manhincot, Methwould, Norlease, 

 Oakingha'ii, Sawbridgcworth, Stanaway, Tenbury, Yct- 

 minster. (Eighteen fairs.) 



NO. 1975, VOL. 76] 



April 25 (May 6). — .Ashovcr, Bracknell, Brigstock, Burn- 

 ham (lissex), Crowborough, Dronficid, Great Oakley, Molt 

 (Norfolk), Iron-Acton, l.landegla, Llannerchymedd, Llati- 

 rwst, I.impsham, Loughborough, MedhursI, Methwould, 

 I'.irkgate, Stoke-under-llampden, Toddinglon, Warkworth. 

 (Twenty fairs.) 



April 25 and 2(1 (May f)J.— Kendal, Penrith. (Two fairs.) 

 April 26 (May 0).— King's Norton, Ovingham, Settle. 

 (Three fairs.) 



April 27 (May (>).— .Axminster, Boroughbridge, Cerrig y 

 Druidion, Dorslon (llenf. There is ,i cromlech there), 

 lloldsworthv, Kevnsham, .Mortimer, Spalding, South 

 .Molton. (Nine fairs.) 



.April 28 (May o). -Boroughbridge, Cerne-.Mib.is, Keyn- 

 sliam, Malmesbury, .Soham. (Five fairs.) 



1 claim April 23 because of the popularity of May 4. 

 The two-days' fairs at Kendal and Penrith connect April 25 

 and 26 with May 5 and b. I claim .April 27 and 28 for a 

 similar reason, namely, that both at Boroughbridge and 

 Keynsham there are two-days' fairs held, which must have 

 been old May festivals. We have the first and the last 

 day of the three-days' festival in the fairs at Methwould on 

 .April 23 and 25. 



There arc only two fairs on .August 8, Rhuthin and 

 .Shepton Mallet, .ind there are only two fairs on the equiva- 

 lent dale, July 21), Mountsorrel and Wivelsfield. Mount- 

 sorrel is an interesting name, as, I believe, .some authorities 

 hold that the wood-sorrel was the original .shamrock, which 

 we have reason to claim as a May-year emblematic plant. 

 'The great August fair day is the fifth, which we are sure 

 was one day of the .August festival because it is coupled 

 with the sixth in two-days' fairs at Ewhurst, Goldsithnay, 

 l.outh, and Trowbridge. 



July 25 (.August 5). — .Ade, .Alresford, Ashton-under-Lyne. 

 Barn.ird Castle, Hillesdon, Blackboys, Ca^le-Acre, Little 

 Clacton, Derby, Dimwich, F.arith, Gissin^ Great Waker- 

 ing, llockwold, Ipswich, Leigh (Kent), Lindsey, Liverpool, 

 Middlewich, Milverlon, North Down, Reading, Saltash, 

 .Se.iford, .Shoreham (Sussex), .Southrepps, Staple, Tiptree 

 Place, Totncs, 'Tregony, Trew, Wisbech (Isle of Ely), 

 W-ils, Yarmouth (Isle of Wight). (Thirty-four fairs.) 



july 26 (August 8). — Bewdley, Clare, Great Bedwin, 

 Hastings, Horsenionden, Kirby, Lewes, I.lanelian, Llan- 

 sawel, Leighton Buzzard, Malpas, Mattingley, Newnhani 

 (Kent), Portsdown, Sherborne, Taniwor(h (Staff.), Twyford. 

 (Seventeen fairs.) 



July 28 (.August 8). — St. Kenclm's, Leek, Manhineot. 

 Week St. Mary, Winchcomb. (Five fairs.) (I claim this 

 date on the strength of the correspondence of the Man- 

 hineot Julv fair with that on April 23.) 



The fairs in October are very numerous. From the 20th 

 to the 2()th I recognise familiar May-year places, such as 

 Cerrig y Druidion, Sawbridgcworth, and Wells on the 

 20lh ; Boroughbridge and Llansawel on the 23rd ; Leighton 

 Buzzard on the 241(1 ; Bentham and Wells on the 25th. 



October 2(1 (November 8). — Appletreewick (an excellent 

 name), Grantham, Fdwinstone, l.landegla, Llansannan, 

 Ovingham, Pen y Bont (Radnor), .Spalding, Warminster, 

 Whittlesea in the Isle of Ely. ('Ten fairs.) 



October 27 (Noveirber 8). — .Abergwili, .Appletreewick, 

 Caergwrle, Cleobury-Mortimer, Darley-Flash, Daventry, 

 March in the Isle of' Fly, Nantglyn. (Fight fairs.) 



October 28 (November 8). — .\lnwick, .Askrig, Bangor, 

 Fast Dean, Llanidloes, Lifton, Linfield, Milbourne-Porl, 

 Needham, Plympton, Radnor, South Ilarting, 'Thirsk, 

 Totnes, Warminster, Whitchurch (Salop), Wigan. (.Seven- 

 teen fairs.) 



October 2q (November 8 strictly). — .Abbey-Holm, .Amble- 

 side, Askrig, Bourn, Little Brickhill, Hrldgenorth, Broad- 

 water, Burton, Chaford, Charing, Chippenham, Clay, Ely, 

 Ewell, Farringdon, llalstead, Ilampton (Gloucestershire), 

 Henley-in-.Arden, Ilighworth, Hindoo, Holt (Denbighshire), 

 Ilorncastle, Hunnianby, Kidwelly, King's Cliff, Kirkby 

 Stephen, Saint Lawrence (Cornwall), Marlow, Midhurst, 

 Mongham, Newraslle-upon-'Tyne (nine days), Pamphill, 

 Plea.sley, Radnor, Sedburgh, Tenby, Thir.sk, 'Tidswell, 

 Towcestcr, Tunbridge, I'phaven, Usk, Wellingborough 

 Wigan. (Forty-four fairs.) 



Without making any further attempt at estimating the 

 number of May quarter-day fairs, we must count nine fairs 

 on January 25 as February 4 festivals; add 57 to the 38 



