Findon Sheep Fair in the past

Findon Sheep Fair

The following text and pictures all come from the website of Valerie Martin - www.findonvillage.com - and are reproduced by kind permission of Valerie Martin

Valerie - These pictures were taken in 1973 and unfortunately they are badly exposed slides, and as I don't have a slide scanner these images are photos of projections, hence the poor quality. But at least it is something. What do you think of Liz's hat, good job it didn't catch on! Tony.
Tony Hammond, East Preston, West Sussex

I just hope that this year's Sheep Fair will not be as wet as the 1973 one looks, Tony!

IN TIME PAST.....1981.....

John Pelling has brought me some further photographs of an almost forgotten part of the Findon Sheep Fair, the Southdown Sheep Society Show and Sale. This show was on the Friday before the Fair with the sale on the following day.
The sheep were penned in a marquee on Nepcote Green overnight (while the Society Members held their Annual Dinner at the Warnes Hotel in Worthing! This is the Findon Sheep Fair that was televised in 1981 as "In the Country".

IN TIME PAST.....1982.....Three photographs showing the judging of Southdown sheep the following year, on Friday 10th September 1982........

The auctioning of sheep in 1982......

Auctioning the sheep at Findon Sheep Fair, 1982

The auction in 1982..... you can just see the Wattle House in the background on Nepcote Green....

IN TIME PAST.... 1989...

8th September 1989 ...Southdown sheep on Nepcote Green.

Many distinctive breeds of sheep have their origins firmly in our chalk downlands. Among them are the famous Southdown that have influenced so many others, including the now rarer Hampshire Down breed. As their name infers, the Southdown hails from the hillsides of our South Downs and it was first acknowledged as a breed as long as two hundred years ago and is the oldest of the Downs breeds. In the nineteenth century, it was not uncommon for a splendid sight of a thousand Southdowns on the larger farms.

As you can see from the photographs, the Southdown is a hardy, broad-backed, square-bodied sturdy animal covered in short, fine wool. (Its face and legs should be mousy brown and it should have pink skin with darker nostrils).

I think the Southdown has rather an endearing appearance owing to its puffy woolly cheeks and teddy bear look. In fact, its fleece grows right down to its hocks and knees.

Southdowns have been exported worldwide and have enjoyed popularity in New Zealand (yes, I did say New Zealand, Peter) and France. The pure-breds tend to be kept now by enthusiasts. A mature Southdown ewe (they are good mothers) can weigh up to 68 kg and a ram can attain some 90 kg.

STANDING ROOM ONLY ON NEPCOTE GREEN ......Here is the Findon Sheep Fair from twenty years ago, back in September 1984 when it was standing room only. How life has changed and the number of sheep has dwindled over the years and now we have none being auctioned.

Twenty years ago a local newspaper printed the words of doom —

"Imagine Findon's Nepcote Green without a Sheep Fair and it would be like thinking of bread without butter".

It was thought that the all-time low had been hit when there were only 4,000 entries. Now we would be overjoyed to see so many.

We still have Nepcote Green thank goodness but no sheep to be auctioned.

In 1984 crowds of visitors and spectators rubbed shoulders with the sheep farmers in checked chaps. They chatted with their ruddy cheeked shepherds from throughout Sussex, Surrey and further afield. They were all at Findon to witness the sheep auctions, to linger in the refreshment tents and to enjoy the fun of the sideshows, to mingle with the throng at the stands, or just stand and stare.

A significant feature of the 1984 fair was the poor grazing that was to blame for the low numbers of sheep for sale. There was an increase in young sheep but a drop in breeding ewes. At the time both were attributed to the dry summer which had left land owners with poor grass. The overall number of sheep for sale (more than 8,000) was down on previous years. Just over 4,000 ewes went under the hammer, compared with a thousand more the year before.

The auctioneers, Geering and Churchman Burt said that many ewes had been sold off earlier in the season because of the drought. The increase in shearling ewes for sale had come because farmers were selling off their flocks much earlier because of the poor grazing available to them. The demand for lambs was strong but when younger ewes came before the auctioneer later in the afternoon, the prices had slackened off in 1984.

The following year, thousands of ewes and lambs once again congregated on Nepcote Green. Some 7,760 animals, including 7,200 ewes and 560 rams were put up for the auction by Geering and Colyer of nearby Steyning. Farmers from all over the country cast an expert eye over the flocks.

The stars of the show that year were the Southdown, Suffolk, Hampshire Down, Texel, Dorset Down, Greyface and Masham breeds, to name just a few.

Many animals stood motionless until it was their turn to be herded in front of the prospective buyers but one ram (obviously tired of waiting his turn) charged at a farmer and bowled him over into the straw.

This is a photograph from the past of a shepherd at a farm in Ditchling. I would put my money onthe fact that HE visited Findon Sheep Fair in his day.

ANIMAL PENS TOO SMALL. Back in September 1987 the auctioneers of the Sheep Fair received "a hammering" when some of their methods were criticised by the Findon Parish Council.

Handleys of Heathfield, (who were running the fair for the first time), were attacked for the size of the sheep pens which were packed extremely tightly with animals.

Sheep farmer and councillor, Hugh Wyatt of the Cissbury Estate, told the press how he could not fit all of his livestock into one of the pens and, in fact, it was reported that he said that all pens were on the small side.

Ray Knight of Nepcote revealed that the RSPCA inspector had remarked that the pens were O.K. for the poor weather..... but if it had been a hot day it would have been another question.

Ray also criticised the preparation for the Fair in which hurdles had been thrown all around the Green. Rather amusingly it was reported that he said —

"This was extremely dangerous for those of us who go up there at night" .

Here's another shepherd from the past. This time, one from nearby Ditchling, I bet HE visited the Findon Sheep Fair also.

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