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How Lee Fair was saved

This booklet was first sold at First of Lee 1994. Since then there have been many changes, which are described briefly on this page and the next; there are also some notes on the previous page, which correct or add to the 1994 edition.

In 1994, news of the possible closure of the fair after more than 850 years generated quite a bit of publicity, including a television report by Christa Ackroyd of YTV Calendar. This coincided with the eviction of Travellers from playing fields in East Leeds, who then moved to the fair fields and created havoc for over a fortnight. They were persuaded to leave just in time for Latter Lee, but others then followed their example and stayed until 26th October, which made it very difficult to get new fields for 1995.

First of Lee 1994 was the best ever held on Cockaynes' land; people made a special effort to turn out for what might have been the next to last Lee Fair ever, and the attendance of about 1500 was much too large for the fields. Everyone was pushed shoulder to shoulder; there was a marvellously friendly atmosphere, and no accidents. Because of the trouble between the fairs, turn-out at Latter Lee was much reduced, to about 800, and there was more bother to follow, but the Action Group was determined to press on. There was still plenty of goodwill towards the fair, and a local land-owner, Derek Whiteley, privately offered a field, but only if he had the support of an organising committee, the Council and the Police.

Over the winter, negotiations with Leeds City Council made little progress, so the Action Group gave up on the fairs as a lost cause. Not to be beaten, I formed a Lee Fair Committee in May 1995 and in July we made a break-through when the Council very helpfully agreed to provide portable toilets. Every possible detail was put in place, and we worked closely with Inspector Alec Gilston of Morley Police. However, the new fields were under wheat which had been held back by a cold and wet Spring; there was general opinion that it could not be harvested in time, but the Summer of '95 was very hot and dry, so Mr. Whiteley was able to give the go-ahead with 10 days to spare. Even so, the last of the corn was cut only 5 days before First of Lee; England's oldest charter fair came as close as that to closing, perhaps for ever.

Committee members quickly pulled everything together, and word spread throughout the travelling and horse-riding communities; at very short notice, we had a crowd of about 2500, the best for over 40 years, and well over twice the recent average on the old fields. Derek's neighbour Alan Barraclough allowed the next field to be used for car-parking, so we coped with everyone. The lateness of the wheat had been a bit of a fright, and clouds of dust were raised from the stubble, but it was a lot better than no fair at all, or an informal event on the public highway, which certainly would have been moved on by the Police.

In keeping with tradition, the turn-out for Latter Lee '95 was a bit lower than First of Lee, but still more than twice the recent average. Both 1996 fairs were up on '95, and overall 1997 was about the same. This has placed us on a sound financial footing, though plenty of work is still done "for nowt"; the Council paid for the toilets in '95, and half the cost in '96; that was the end of their support, for which we were very thankful, and in '97 we made our own toilets from an old portakabin. These saved money, should last a few years without vandalism, and have been welcomed particularly by those visitors who travel many miles to the fair. We remain at the mercy of the weather; the first six fairs on the new fields had only about six minutes of rain, but we have missed narrowly some heavy downpours. First of Lee '97 would have been washed out, if it had not been one of those which are put back a day when the true date falls on a Sunday; in the same year, Latter Lee struck golden September weather in the middle of a dull and chilly week.

Soon after the 1995 fairs, the main field was put down to grass, to give a better surface and reduce the danger from late crops, though we still need to clear the car parking field each year. There is how a settled layout which works well and is safe if people act sensibly. Attendances have improved because of better facilities, more space and more advertising. In 1997 overall attendance was about the same as in 1996; we had marked time on promotion to build the toilet block, but there has been more time for publicity in '98, so it will be interesting to see if numbers are up again, though a lot depends on the weather.

Although safe for the immediate future, in the longer term the fairs face uncertainty. They are held by invitation on private land, which is obviously under pressure from house-building. Eventually, the fair might have to buy its own permanent site, which could be used for other purposes through the year. Because of the history of the fair, it may be possible to apply for a National Lottery Heritage grant, though we were surprised to find how little official recognition or protection there is for historic events, no matter how ancient or genuine they may be. There seems to be plenty of help for buildings, ruins, earthworks, trees, birds, bats, newts and even entire landscapes or areas of towns and cities, but nothing for events. One probable reason for this is that in Britain there are very few surviving events of any real age; many apparent "traditions" are Victorian inventions or modern imports or revivals of little historic worth, so genuine examples like Lee Fair are oddities which do not fit well into any conservation pigeon holes.

Always, Lee Fair has survived by changing with the times. As one trade has died, another has taken over; as one field has been closed or built on, another has been found, but it is still the same Fair, supported by many generations of the same families.

Gypsies also change with the times; now hardly anyone lives in a horse-drawn wagon, and most English Romanies are based on permanent camp-sites; nearly all those who move unpredictably from one piece of spare land to another are Irish or New Age Travellers. Even so, the old ways are not forgotten, and horse-fairs remain very important dates in the Romany calendar.

Lee Fair's fortune depends on the amount of effort, goodwill and interest it generates in West Ardsley. Without local support, it would not have survived the crisis of 1994/95, and it is pleasing to see that the nearby Westerton Primary School has organised visits to the new fields at Latter Lee; this is an investment for the future, as some of those children will surely grow up with a better understanding of Lee Fair, and more regard for it.

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