May Fair Beaconsfield 2016

May Fair is held annually on the 10th May in Beaconsfield Old Town. The fair has been running for over 740 years, since 1269 and is perhaps one of the town’s oldest traditions.

The fair usually starts at midday and continues throughout the day until 11pm. There’s a variety of fairground rides, stalls and places to buy food. It brings the community together and is enjoyed by families, children and teenagers. If the weather forecast is good it’s usually a very busy event.

Old Beaconsfield transforms overnight from a quiet placid town to a bright busy fair with its flashing lights, noise and music. The A40 is normally closed through Beaconsfield and a diversion route is put in place taking traffic around the town centre.

The tradition of holding the fair dates back to the reign of Henry III when the abbess and nuns of Burnham Abbey were given permission to hold a fair in Beaconsfield every year over an eight-day period. This was shortened to two days in 1414 and in 1863 the date was set to what it is today – May 10 or May 11 if it falls on a Sunday.