Horncastle Discovered               The heart of the Lincolnshire Wolds

The Great Horncastle Horse Fair

A Brief History

Horncastle was once the venue for the world's largest horse fair. In the early 1800s horse dealers and buyers came from all over Europe to buy and sell horses. By this time the fair had already been established for some 600 years, its charter being granted in 1229. The fair was not only an institution but also hugely influential, prices realised at the sales were used as a barometer and price guide throughout the country. Towards the end of the 18th century a 3 to 4-year old cart horse would sell for £25 to £30, a considerable sum at the time. Small wonder then that most of the local farmers and landowners were engaged in breeding horses. The main breed was known as the Lincolnshire Black, a precursor of the Shire Horse, these were used mainly for ploughing, haulage and for pulling hackney coaches when they were licensed in 1694. The August fair, which could last up to two weeks, gave rise to its own satellite economy. For example the area became one of the largest producers of oats in solely in order to meet the demands of feeding the huge number of horses. It was not only the horses that needed to be fed and watered, the fairs were responsible for a large influx of dealers, buyers and visitors. This brought about an increasing demand for inns and stabling. By 1826 Horncastle had a population of approximately only 3,500 yet there were 21 licensed inns.  By 1860 there were 48 inns and alehouses licensed which equated to one for every 100 residents ! Some of those included The Black Horse, Cross Keys, Bull, King's Head, New Rodney, Black Swan, Queen's Head, Punch House, Vine Tavern and many more. The mid 1800s saw the fairs at their peak with the advent of the railways bringing in more and more horses, especially from Ireland. By the 1890s the glory days were over and the fair began to show signs of decline. Fewer horses were coming in which in turn lead to the cancelling of some train services. Both prices and volume began to decline steadily throughout the early part of the 1900s. The general street trading  was all but gone with sales going through the single auction with prices between the wars falling to an average 12 to 15 guineas per horse. The auction moved from the Bull Repository to the New Inn Yards during World War II and the increased demand for agricultural horses breathed some new life into both the auctions and prices, which rose to an average of 40 guineas, it was though, sadly, short lived. In 1948 the final notice was posted inviting entries for the sale. The Horncastle Great August Horse Fair ceased to exist

for images of the horsefair please visit our gallery
History Section

Horncastle Discovered