page_title: Holsworthy
section_title: Culture
hierarchical_section_title: Holsworthy / Culture and community / Culture
caption_attribution_description: Holsworthy Town Crier
context_page_description: Holsworthy is a small English market town and civil parish in the local government district of Torridge, Devon. The county town of Exeter is 36.4 miles to the east. The River Deer, a tributary of the River Tamar, forms the western boundary of the parish, which includes the village of Brandis Corner. According to the 2011 census the population of Holsworthy was 2,641.
context_section_description: St Peter's Fair is held in July and lasts for four days (Wednesday to Saturday). Since the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1752, with the resulting loss of eleven days, the fair has been held eleven days after the feast day of St Peter (29 June). On the first day of St Peter's Fair, the 1614 charter granting a fair by King James I is proclaimed by the town crier on the spot where the Great Tree of Holsworthy stood in Stanhope Square. A brass plaque in the road marks the site of the Great Tree.
  The annual presentation of the "Pretty Maid" is made at noon on the first day of St Peter's Fair. Her identity is kept secret until she emerges through the church tower doorway to be greeted by the crowd of viewers of this unique ceremony. It is a result of a legacy made in the will of the Reverend Thomas Meyrick, of Carta Martha, near Launceston who died 27 May 1841. He was the brother of the Reverend Owen Lewis Meyrick (Rector of Holsworthy from 1766 to his death in 1819). Under the terms of the will, the legacy was to be invested to pay a dividend of £3 10s on 5 July annually to the churchwarden of Holsworthy. £2 10s of the dividend to be paid to a young single woman under the age of 30 and "generally esteemed by the young as the most deserving, the most handsome, most noted for her qualities and attendance at church." The balance of £1 was to be paid to a spinster, not under 60 years of age, of the same qualities.
  The annual, one day, Holsworthy and Stratton Agricultural Show is an important event for the town and the local farming community. The show began in 1883 as the Holsworthy and Stratton Agricultural Exhibition and the venue alternated between Stratton and Holsworthy. After World War II, a permanent site was purchased, north of Stanhope Park, and became known as the Show Field. The show was held in May and was the first in Devon's agricultural show season. It is now held at Killatree Cross, 1.2 miles (1.9 km) west of Holsworthy, on the third Thursday in August.
  A half-marathon, the Ruby Run, is held in June between the towns of Hatherleigh and Holsworthy. The starting point alternates between the two towns each year and attracts competitors from all over the South West. The first race was run on 15 June 2003 from Hatherleigh to Holsworthy.
  Holsworthy Vintage Vehicle and Engine Rally started in 1987 and has grown into a major two-day event that attracts exhibitors and visitors from a wide area. The rally is held on the last Saturday and Sunday of June.
  The annual Carnival is held in November. The first was held in November 1900 as a replacement for the Guy Fawkes and bonfire celebration.
  Holsworthy is twinned with Aunay-sur-Odon in the Calvados department in the Lower Normandy region of north-west France. Aunay-Sur-Odon is 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) south of Villers-Bocage, 30 kilometres (19 mi) south-west of Caen, and 31 kilometres (19 mi) north-east of Vire. The two communities visit each other's towns in alternate years.
caption: Proclamation of the fair charter by the Town crier
exif: {}