Post by Dave on May 29, 2017 16:12:00 GMT
Kingsteignton Ram Roast Fair 29th May 2017
As a young child growing up in Newton Abbot there was a number of local events you always attended. Courtney Park Fayre, the Cheese & Onion Fayre and not forgetting the Kingsteignton Ram Roasting Fair.
I have fond memories of one such Ram Roasting Fair when I was just fourteen years old. I had instantly fallen in love with a Chudleigh girl who was taking part in the gymkhana at the fair. It turned out to be short lived love affair, but it is one of those memories you just hold onto.
I moved from Newton Abbot to Torbay in my early twenty’s and attending all those local events soon became a thing of the past sadly. Thankfully so many good people have kept alive such events in many of our local towns and villages for people to still enjoy.
So today I thought I would take a trip down my own memory lane and take Lyn to the Ram Roasting Fair, the bank holiday weather is not the best, but at least it is dry with the promise of the sun coming out later.
I have borrowed the following article on the history of the fair along with two great old photos and below that is my report on the day along with a number of photos taken today.
www.kingsteigntonhistorysociety.com/village%20history/theramfair.htm
THE RAM ROASTING FAIR at Kingsteignton is a very old festival which has probably survived from the Middle Ages and has much to suggest that it is of even greater antiquity. The main feature is the roasting whole of the carcass of a ram in the open air Legend has it "that once upon a time" there was drought in Kingsteignton.
There was no water for drinking, indeed there was not enough to baptise a child. A child needing baptism, the villagers went down into the dry bed of the stream where the stones stood bare and sacrificed a ram.
Water sprang up at the spot, the baby was baptised and the supply of water restored. In thanksgiving and as a valid excuse for merrymaking the roasting of a ram at Whitsuntide became customary and has continued up to the present day.
So runs the legend, but the true origins of the Fair have been lost in the mists of time. Many of the old traditions associated with the Fair, such as the procession of the ram through the village and the turning off of the Fairwater Leat, have fallen by the wayside.
Traditionally the Fair started after evening prayers on Whit Sunday, when the leat was turned out to run along the natural course of drainage through Crossley Moor to Oakford. On Whit Monday the leat would be cleaned out and the ram paraded around the village as money was collected for prizes for the events to be held the following day.
On Whit Tuesday the Fair took place along Crossley Moor Road beside the dried up bed of the leat where the ram was roasted. Around 1883 the Fair was moved to a meadow site. Various fields hosted the Fair until a permanent home was found for it at Oakford Lawn in 1904.
Nowadays the Fair is no longer a three day festival and is held on Spring Holiday Monday.
Roasting a complete ram is not a task to be undertaken lightly. The carcass is cooked whole - a process which can take more than 24 hours with the cook in constant attendance.
I was unsure which camera I wanted to take with me but settled for my Fuji HS50 in the end that I have only used once before after buying it as a back up for my other HS50. The thought of carrying around all my Canon gear all afternoon was a non starter.
We got there just as it was opening and at just £2 for adults with kids getting in for free has to make it one of the best value bank holiday days out.
My pictures do not show just how packed the field became as most were taken just after we got there. The new main attraction was the tug of war but sadly only two teams turned up so it ended up being a bit of a non event.
When I went there when I was young the ram was roasting and only near the end was it cut up and put into baps. Many times I joined the large queue and ended up not getting any due to it all being gone.
Its all changed now with ram baps being on sale very early on while a ram is still roasting away, it looked like ram meat must have been cooked earlier so everyone could get some, but we didn’t as that queue was miles long.
It was so good to see the event so well attended and while there were plenty of stalls etc, the event really needed a bit more going on. Yes there was maypole dancing and children’s races and the one tug of war that took place, but that was about it.
The field was never really bit enough in the old days to host its Gymkhana and to be honest with the amount of people there to day it would have been impossible to fit it in anyway, but I sure missed it.
We enjoyed our day at the Ram Roasting fair and enjoyed a burger and chips and a 99 whippy ice-cream as the sun came out to make it a very pleasant afternoon.
The chairman and his wife are stepping down this year and new blood is needed to ensure the Ram Roasting Fair is here to stay for many more years to come
The Ram being roasted in 1920 the picture above shows a pile of pit props (recognisable by the way they are cut) being used as firewood. ©Richard Harris
©Richard HarrisThe Ram being taken to the field in 1910
