page_title: Nottingham Goose Fair
hierarchical_section_title: Nottingham Goose Fair
caption_attribution_description: English: Nottingham Goose Fair, an evening ride.
context_page_description: The Nottingham Goose Fair is an annual travelling funfair held at the Forest Recreation Ground in Nottingham, England, during the first week of October. Largely provided by travelling showmen, it is one of three established fairs in the United Kingdom to carry the name, the others being the smaller Goosey Fair in Tavistock, Devon, and the even smaller Michaelmas Goose Fayre in Colyford, East Devon.
  Although it is now known for its fairground rides and attractions, the fair started as a livestock and trade event, with a reputation for its excellent cheese. The name "Goose Fair" is derived from the thousands of geese that were driven from the Lincolnshire fens in the East of England to be sold in Nottingham at the fair each year.
  In 1284, a royal charter was granted by King Edward I that referred to city fairs in Nottingham, although it is thought that a fair was already established in the city before then. Goose Fair was originally held for eight days starting on 21 September, but was moved to early October in 1752, when the Gregorian calendar was first adopted in Britain.
context_section_description: The Nottingham Goose Fair is an annual travelling funfair held at the Forest Recreation Ground in Nottingham, England, during the first week of October. Largely provided by travelling showmen, it is one of three established fairs in the United Kingdom to carry the name, the others being the smaller Goosey Fair in Tavistock, Devon, and the even smaller Michaelmas Goose Fayre in Colyford, East Devon. 
  Although it is now known for its fairground rides and attractions, the fair started as a livestock and trade event, with a reputation for its excellent cheese. The name "Goose Fair" is derived from the thousands of geese that were driven from the Lincolnshire fens in the East of England to be sold in Nottingham at the fair each year.
  In 1284, a royal charter was granted by King Edward I that referred to city fairs in Nottingham, although it is thought that a fair was already established in the city before then. Goose Fair was originally held for eight days starting on 21 September, but was moved to early October in 1752, when the Gregorian calendar was first adopted in Britain. The fair was cancelled in 1646 due to an outbreak of the bubonic plague, and again during the two World Wars of the 20th century. Goose Fair was officially cancelled on 21 August 2020 due to ongoing safety concerns resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
  For centuries, Goose Fair was held in Nottingham's Old Market Square in the city centre, until it was moved to the Forest Recreation Ground in 1928, due to space limitations and planned redevelopment of the market square. In recent years, there has been over 400,000 visitors to the fair each year.
caption: Goose Fair's spinning swing carousel, illuminated at night in 2012
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