THE comments on Seamer Fair made by a self-styled "Scarborough romany" and quoted in the Evening News on August 7, were abundant in error, misunderstanding and ignorance.
The fair was first granted by royal charter, dated Martinmas, 11 November 1382, to Henry Percy, earl of Northumberland, lord of the manor of Seamer.
Only the lord of the manor has the right to hold the annual fair and only the Crown can revoke th
e charter.
However, under the Fairs Act of 1871, the Home Secretary of the day has the authority to close a fair permanently if it is thought to be a threat to public peace and good order.
In 1970, for example, James Callaghan, then Home Secretary, shut down Topcliffe's annual fair which dated from 1343.
Not until the 20th century has Seamer Fair come to be associated with gipsies and their horses: for centuries it was never a "horse fair".
The charter authorises the sale of "any lawful goods". The fair pre-dates the presence of gipsies in England by at least two centuries.
During the last 100 years there has been friction between outside visitors to the fair and the residents of Seamer. After the pitched battles of July 1911 travellers were forbidden to enter the village or camp on its green.
It was persistent illegal parking and camping, damage to local property, unauthorised grazing, trespass and pilfering which eventually brought about the end of Topcliffe fair.
The proclamation of Seamer fair specifically commands that all resorting to it should keep the King's peace.
It is within the authority of the current lord of the manor of Seamer not to have the fair proclaimed in future: and it is within the power of the Home Secretary to close it down for ever.
It certainly can be stopped.
Jack Binns
Chatsworth Gardens
Scarborough
The full article contains 311 words and appears in Scarborough Evening News newspaper.
