Corby Pole Fair

Where:	Corby, Northants in the Old Village with Charter Readings starting at the Church
When:	Weekend in May (usually) every 20 years
Time:	All day and evening from Bellringing 5 am & Charter Readings 6 am

The ancient Charter Fair at Corby is held every 20 years, not annually, and takes its name from the pole or stang used to transport miscreants and non-payers to the stocks. Many of the ancient traditions of the fair can be traced back to 1585 when Queen Elizabeth I granted the Charter; the traditions include the reading of the Charter at all the entrances to the Old Village and the transportation of the dignitaries carried aloft in chairs, the free Community Breakfast, the toll fee for entry and the stocks for those avoiding it, the floral archways at the entrances, the Greasy Pole (unavailable for health and safety reasons in 2022 but a pole was still erected with a dummy “climbing” it), the market, the Procession and of course the Pole itself. In 2022 the stang was used as a prop in the medium of interpretative dance rather than to carry wrongdoers (presumably also for safety reasons) but was definitely still in evidence. The walking procession included giant puppets of figures from local history, and there were plenty of entertainments including morris dancers, jousting, a Viking encampment, sets from the Corby Silver Band which was formed especially for the Pole Fair of 1902, a funfair, a Pageant featuring Elizabeth I, and numerous other performances throughout the day and evening.