The history of local fairs goes back to the 12th century when towns or cities were often granted royal charters to hold an annual fair, an event that would draw crowds from all the nearby villages and hamlets and was often held in conjunction with a local livestock market.
My earliest memories are of a fair that came to a field at the eastern end of Eastbourne where I then lived on a newly-built council estate. Fairs were always exciting places full of noise, smells and twinkling lights. Money was scarce and
