The Fair & Carnival

Bridgwater Past and Present Taken from the BGSG School Magazine Chevron in 1933.

Are the customs of Bridgwater no longer of such interest to us as they were to our parents at the end of the last century? We constantly hear our parents speak of the pleasures they had as children, and of the amusements Bridgwater offered them, which have since ceased to entertain the younger generation. "But", says the youth of today, in self-defence, "we still observe the same old customs of the town, St. Matthew's Fair and the Guy Fawkes Carnival". Do you not feel, though, from our experience of recent years, that the Carnival and Fair no longer have the hold they once had over the townspeople? They are the mere shadows of what they were.

St. Matthew's Fair has changed in that the market is not greatly emphasized today while the mechanical, pleasure-giving side has pre-eminence. The abolition of teasers and confetti has improved the fair for the general public, with the result that it has now become a fun-fair where money is profusely spent on pleasures of the moment.

The Guy Fawkes Carnival which is carried out in a way unique to Bridgwater is surely one of the customs of the town that should not be allowed to die out. The Carnival today is left entirely in the hands of working-class men who find it difficult in these times of depression to give the people the customary procession and squibbing display. There seems to be an entirely different spirit pervading the Carnival. We lack the goodwill of years past, when the trades-people of the town represented their industries in the procession, and large numbers of squibs were made locally. The Carnival spirit seems to have flagged now that people are no longer able to dance round a bonfire on the Cornhill till the early hours of the morning.

These customs which we observe with dying interest are merely echoes of the past. Where are the times when the Eastover and Westover Revels were celebrated each year, when the streets were decorated with flags and evergreen, and sports and dinners were held? We no longer have the pleasure of these. Turn to the realm of sport. Shall we ever see again such a wonderful array of bicycle-riders and athletes, the cream of the country, as those who assembled in the old Malt Shovel Field? The local people were not lacking in efforts to outvie them. What has become of our famous football sides, bicycling clubs and harriers? Must we admit that they have degenerated, if not completely vanished?

What busy scenes were witnessed on our river in the days when pleasure steamers, as well as trading ships, passed up and down! We never see today Salmon Parade crowded with people as it was when the annual Regatta made the Parrett the scene of many a hard rowing match between the crews of local ships. Picture the early morning scene when thousands of people thronged the river bank to witness the launching of yet another noble vessel. The River Parrett has lost much of its hold on the people of Bridgwater.

When we think of what Bridgwater once was, should we not try our utmost to preserve the ancient customs that yet remain as a link between the Bridgwater of the present and that of the past?"

J. Hopkins Form V1(Bridgwater County School for Girls 1933)