Sherborne's Pack Monday Fair returns after Covid-halt

Thousands of people have turned out to a town's annual street fair after it was cancelled last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pack Monday is Sherborne's only surviving medieval street fair, and one of only a few still in operation in the UK.

The Dorset event dates back to medieval times and is held on the first Monday after Old Michaelmas Day.

Old Michaelmas Day, which falls on 10 October, traditionally marks the feast of St Michael the Archangel and is associated with the beginning of autumn.

In medieval times, it was also the time of year when agreements were made between farmers and farm labourers.

Known in other parts of the country as Mop Fairs or Hiring Fairs, the annual gathering in Sherborne came to be known as a Pack Fair, which is thought to have come from the word pact.

The fair comprises a traditional street fair with market and craft stalls in the town's four main streets, a fun fair at The Terraces and two evenings of entertainment prior to the Monday in Pageant Gardens.

At midnight on the Sunday before the street fair, a procession is held through the town by "Teddy Roe's Band", a group of locals making as much noise as possible by blowing horns and whistles.

The band dates to 1490 when repair work to Sherborne Abbey was completed, overseen by foreman Teddy Roe, after it was damaged by fire.

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