Many articles have been written on the history of Callington's Honey Fair, however
it seems unclear when the old fair was actually established. In 1267, Callington
was granted a market charter by Henry III, when he was raising funds to rebuild Westminster
Abbey. The charter gave permission for a weekly market and annual fair.
It seems that the Callington Honey Fair actually became established in the latter half
of the 19th century and initially occured in August, on the nativity of the Blessed Mary.
The Honey Fair continued annually until the beginning of WWII when it was discontinued.
In 1978 a local lad, John Trevithick, set out on his own initiative to
re-establish Callington Honey Fair. The headlines of the day read "County Fair
buzzes back to life, thanks to a busy bee" and here we are thirty years later
still going strong and making as big a buzz as ever. John (Bard of the
Gorsedd)
and his wife June, were the guests of honour at the 2008 Honey Fair.
(click to enlarge
photographs of John and June Trevithick, presenting prizes in 2008). Sorry. No photos from 2009 Honey Fair!
After the first successful year the fair was taken over by the Lions Club of Callington mainly because they had enough people to organise and administer such a big event. These days on average, over 100 stalls line the streets. Adding to the entertainment are a large fun fair and various street entertainers (clowns, travelling musicians etc). The late Wesley Wilton guided the fair forward and it has evolved so that the two central car parks and New Road are now used. The fair is still administered by the Lions Club of Callington and any monies raised at Honey Fair are used for Lions Charities throughout the year.
Callington Honey Fair has become one of the largest street fairs in Cornwall, with hundreds of people visiting the town to enjoy the
friendly and community-based fair. In fact, Callington is the only town in Cornwall
which still retains a Honey Fair.
The modern-day fair is held each year on the 1st Wednesday in October and each year has
a unique theme. This same theme is used for the annual Shop Window Competition & the
Children's Art Competition, which attracts entries from 11 primary schools in the region.
There are normally over 900 entries. The entries are displayed in Callington Town Hall on Honey Fair Day.
You can see the 2008 Competition Winners
here.
Callington Town Hall is
also used for the central thrust of the fair - the honey and honey products competitions (see prize giving photos
here).
The competition schedules and recipes are available from Callington Town Hall. The town hall also
hosts the now famous Honey Fair cream teas (Teas with the Bees), organised by the Callington
Lions Club ladies and friends. Refreshments are also available from the two churches
and various catering outlets in the town.
Callington Honey Fair has always been a friendly
community event. Many local charities & organisations participate and as always,
the town's churches join in with exhibitions. In 2008 St.Mary's theme was "Wedding dresses
and photographs", whilst the theme at the Methodist Chapel was "Christmas trees and Cribs".
Street music throughout the day for 2008 was provided by The South East Cornwall Accordion Band, and from
7pm to 8pm, Callington Town Band played in the Town Hall. St. Mary's Church bells
then rang for an hour.
New for 2008
The 2008 Callington Honey Fair hosted a Town Criers Competition,
organized by Denis Cook, Callington's Town Crier (extreme right in
photo),
& held under the rules of
The Ancient and Honourable Guild of Town Criers. The competition winner was Rob
Tremain, Launceston's Town Crier
A further innovation for 2008 was a "Lucky Programme" with a prize of £50 .
The LUCKY PROGRAMME was drawn on Wednesday 8th October 2008. The winning programme ticket was Salmon Pink No.198 Ticket Serial No.AP542345 To claim your £50.00
prize money, or for any other enquiries about Callington Honey Fair, please telephone Callington Lion David
Jones on 07875 075 755 or email Sid Sharp, Callington Honey Fair Webmaster
htc
©2008 Callington Honey Fair
