The Statutes Fair is an amusements fair held in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire in England. It is held annually on the first Monday and Tuesday after Michaelmas. The fair has been held since 1219 but, despite its name, no statute allowing for it has been found. The event was originally a hiring fair, with employers giving a symbolic shilling to employees contracted for the following year. Amusement stalls began as a means of persuading the employees to spend their shillings. The event is now entirely an amusements fair. It has survived several attempts at abolition and ran, in a reduced form, through the Second World War and COVID-19 pandemic.
New Street during the fair 2008
A fair ride, 2008
Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In 2021, it had a population of 76,270. The demonym for residents of the town is Burtonian. Burton is located 11 miles (18 km) south-west of Derby, 27 miles (43 km) north-west of Leicester, 28 miles (45 km) west-south-west of Nottingham and 20 miles (32 km) south of the southern entrance to the Peak District National Park.
Image: Market Square, Burton on Trent geograph.org.uk 5395180
Image: Burton upon Trent Town Hall geograph.org.uk 4543673
Image: St Paul's Church geograph.org.uk 3466052
Image: High Street, Burton upon Trent geograph.org.uk 5110765