102 
English Marhets and Fairs. 
noteworthy in this respect. It should be mentioned that the 
bare figures do not show' the wdiole of the changes which have 
taken place. In several instances where little alteration is shown 
in the number of fairs existing in the county, there have, never- 
theless, been some which have been extinguished, though others 
have sprung up in different places. There is no doubt that a 
good number of the defunct fairs owe their decease to the opera- 
tion of the Fairs Act of 1871, which enables a Local Authority, 
' with the sanction of the Home Secretaiy, to abolish any fair. 
Counties 
17Q2 
1888 I 
Counties 
3792 
1888 
Anglesea . 
8 
8 1 
Lancashire . 
43 
62 
Bedfordshire 
16 
11 
Leicestershire . 
15 
11 
Berkshire . 
26 
11 
Lincoln 
62 
39 
Brecknock . 
6 
6 
Merioneth . 
11 
11 
Bucks 
21 
20 
Middlesex . 
13 
5 
Cambridge . 
12 
8 ! 
Monmouth . 
12 
18 
Cardigan . 
13 
8 1 
Montgomery 
6 
11 
Carmarthen 
29 
21 ; 
Norfolk 
76 
27 
Carnarvon . 
18 
9 I 
Northampton 
21 
18 
Cheshire 
16 
21 ! 
Northumberland 
20 
19 
Cornwall . 
36 
42 i 
Oxon . 
19 
18 
Cumberland 
18 
21 1 
Pembroke . 
12 
23 
Denbigh 
21 
6 
Eadnor 
7 
9 
Derby 
21 
21 
Eutland 
2 
1 
Devon 
72 
37 
Shropshire . 
27 
19 
Dorset 
43 
26 
Somerset . 
97 
52 
Durham 
10 
16 
Stafford 
29 
21 
Essex . 
96 
16 
Suffolk 
69 
13 
Flintshire . 
11 
6 
Surrey 
35 
17 
Glamorgan 
16 
16 
Sussex 
119 
41 
Gloucestershire . 
37 
32 I 
Warwick . 
16 
18 
Hampshire 
66 
21 
Westmoreland . 
10 
14 
Hereford . 
16 
11 
Wilts . 
13 
28 
Hertfordshire 
31 
10 
Worcester . 
20 
12 
Hunts 
13 
6 
Yorkshire . 
101 
81 
11 
Kent . 
130 
13 
Totals . 
1,691 
1,035 
Much has been said in condemnation — and, indeed, little can 
be said in defence — of the “ pleasure fair ” as it now survives. 
Those who have had the opportunity of observing, and hearing, 
a big pleasure fair, such as St. Giles’s fair at Oxford, will pro- 
bably agree that, if it possesses redeeming features, they are, to 
say the least, not very conspicuous. But it would be unfair to 
include all in one sweeping anathema. No doubt a legitimate 
excuse for the survival of a fair often exists where it has been 
made solely or mainly an occasion for selling cattle or sheep. 
Mr. Ashton, however, reported that in the South and West of 
England “ cattle fairs are fading away very much,” and he 
thought that in a few years they will disappear altogether. 
