----- Original Message ----- From: "John Love" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, March 03, 2009 9:16 AM Subject: [DUR-NBL] Rural partners meeting > My line goes back to yeoman farmers in North Durham, along the borders, > coincidently with the name YEOMAN. I have no real knowledge of the > C18th goings-on in the area but they were devout non-conformists and > attended church in Berwick, so must have travelled extensively in their > social circle. > > If you are interested, I suggest that you start reading Thomas Hardy's > novels which, although based in Dorset, give a fantastic picture of > rural life in the C19th; surely not too different from the preceding > years. From these, you will see the ritual of the hiring fairs and > quarter day celebrations that were the country calendar. They had a lot > more opportunities than we imagine and walking 6 "country miles" was a > common occurrence. You can spot the calendar from the marriages, often > on or around the quarter days. > > I live close to Weyhill Fair, which Hardy references as "Waydon" in The > Mayor of Casterbridge. It was the oldest hiring fair in the country and > many of the buildings are still there. > > John LOVE > John, You raise some good points here. I hadn't considered country fairs and quarter days. I did once make an attempt to read The Mayor of Casterbridge, but I gave up in boredom. Still, it might be worth having another go, to get some background. Regards, Russ