Many people will be familiar with the hustle and bustle of the modern Hereford May Fair as the streets are filled with rides and attractions during the May Day Bank holiday, but not everyone knows the history behind the event. The charter for a fair to be held on the eve of the feast of St Ethelbert and two days following was granted to the Bishop of Hereford in 1121 as a way of raising money for the Cathedral.

During the fair, the Bishop had rights of control over all trade and those coming into the city which caused many disagreements between the city officials and the bishop over the centuries. In 1838, control of the fair and all its rights passed to the City Council and the duration was reduced from 9 to 2 days. As well as the pleasure fair that it is known as today, the fair also sold livestock, poultry, butter and other produce in the early nineteenth century.

Once you’ve checked out the virtual gallery tour (above) which has lots of exclusive audio, video and interpretation, please feel free to watch our new 360-degree video tour of the exhibition (below). Both the video and the tour can be watched via tablet, desktop or laptop, VR headset or smartphone.

The May Fair 900 partnership included the Apple Store Gallery, Catcher Media, The Courtyard, Hereford BID, Hereford Cathedral, Hereford City Council, Hereford College of Arts, Hereford River Carnival, Herefordshire Council, Herefordshire Lieutenancy, Herefordshire Museums, Libraries & Archives, Mortimer History Society, Fairground Association of Great Britain, The Showmen’s Guild of Great Britain and The Waterworks Museum Hereford.

To celebrate and share the fair’s rich history a programme of events were curated by the above Herefordshire organisations, including an installation will be created by HCA students outside the Black & White House Museum (April – May); a virtual May Fair 900 trail around the city exploring key sites using the Love Exploring app; an online talk with Hereford Cathedral, led by archivist Elizabeth Semper O’Keefe discussing the history of the fair and a series of guided walks around the city. An illustrated, commemorative booklet, was produced by Graham Downie from the Fairground Association of Great Britain and was released at the opening of the exhibition. If you would like a copy please contact us.