14th July
Exeter Lammas Fair
The Lammas Glove. Source: DevonLive website
On or about 14th July, the unusual Lammas Fair takes place in Exeter, in Devon. It is unusual because it does not take place on Lammas, which falls on 1st August. It is doubly curious because it is not actually a fair at all, but a procession through the streets of Exeter, led by a citizen holding a pole topped with a stuffed glove emerging from a ball of summer flowers. At the conclusion of the procession, the Mayor reads out the Lammas Fair Proclamation. Apparently there was a fair in Exeter centuries ago and for some reason even though the fair ceased to exist, its proclamation continued. The stuffed glove is supposed to represent the King’s protection of the event.
On this day in 1669, a winged dragon descended on Henham in Essex. It was reputed to be nine feet in length. The dragon seems to have caused no damage or harm and simply lay in the sun for an hour or two before flying off. Its visit was commemorated in a pamphlet and a local ale was brewed in the dragon’s honour, called Snakebite.
