Charlton Horn Fair 2025.

The Charlton Horn Fair took place last Sunday, 19^th October. This annual event at Charlton House sparked my curiosity about the origin of the Horn Fair, and as I delved into the past, the story became increasingly fascinating.

The origins of the fair have differing stories, but the main story goes that King John (1166 – 1216) Cuckolded a Miller by seducing his wife while on a hunting trip. The miller came home and caught the king and his wife and attempted to kill the king. King John managed to save his own life by convincing the miller of his true identity. As penance for the wrong that he had done to the miller, he decreed that the miller be given a lordship and all the land between Charlton and the bend in the River Thames at Rotherhithe, which ironically later became known as cuckold point or cuckold haven.

No one knows when the fair first started, but it was initially held at the place later known as Cuckold Point. If the story has some merit to it, then the Horn Fair would be at least 810 years old. However, other historical records place the starting date in the 1500s.

The Horn Fair was initially scheduled for October 18, which is Saint Luke’s Day. Saint Luke had an association with cattle and oxen, hence the name Horn Fair. Patrons of the fair would often display horns on their heads.

The Horn Fair went on for hundreds of years and became a place associated with drunkenness, raucous, violent behaviour, and debauchery. Eventually, all this debauchery and chaos was too much for the Victorians’ pious sensibilities, and so in 1872, the Horn Fair was closed and banned for good.

In 1973, the Fair was resurrected as a much tamer, family-oriented fair, set on the Sunday nearest to October 18th, within the grounds of Charlton House.

This year marked my first visit to the Horn Fair, despite having lived in the area for 30 years. If this was the standard of the event every year, then I had not missed much.

The main reason the event was a washout was the rain. When I arrived, a local dance troop of about 10 young girls aged about 11 to 13 years old was trying to perform on a patch of green that had turned to mud due to the rain, leaving the kids’ clothing rather muddy by the end of their show.  Waiting at the front of Charlton  House was a troop of Morris dancers waiting for their turn to entertain the small crowd.

There was a small number of stalls selling craft stuff, coffee and food,  but once again they had very few customers, and they all looked miserable as if they were thinking ‘ what am I doing here, I could be down the pub’.

That could be the magic ingredient that was missing at this event: alcohol, or at least one beer stall. The only refreshments on offer were tea and coffee in the tea room or on the stalls.

I know they don’t want a return to the bad old days of the 19^th century,  but I think just a bit of debauchery and wilder entertainment and commercialism wouldn’t go amiss in the 21^st century.

I’m not knocking the Horn Fair entirely, but with more entertainment, a decent bar or stalls selling some alcohol, and even a wider variety of food on offer, it would be a lot better. The weather can’t be controlled, so I will not criticise the event organisers for that.

I will go again next year, and hopefully, the event, which only lasts 5 hours from 11 am to 4 pm, will be a bit more lively.

Bouldr Bar Update.

Last Saturday, I stopped by the Bouldr Bar, the taproom for Rock Leopard Brewery, to see how things were progressing.  Due to the blustery, windy, and winter weather, the tables and benches have now been moved inside.

The place is still a work in progress, but Stacey Ayeh said that it should be fully operational as a pub by the end of November or definitely before Christmas.  You can’t rush these things.  It’s taken him three years of hard graft and fighting red tape and bureaucracy to get this far.

In the afternoon and evening, from about 3 pm onwards, they are now serving food in the form of pizzas or Jollof rice. On their Instagram page, they are asking what should be next on the menu,  so the food at the pub is also a work in progress.

I chose to sample one of their new beers called “ Don’t delete the kisses”, a hazy New England IPA, which I liked very much.

I was looking forward to trying another new beer of theirs, called “Tough Questions,” which is an APA (American Pale Ale), a collaboration with Burning Sky, an artisanal brewery. However, they did not have any on tap that particular day.

I hope to stop by again sometime in November and get another update before the grand opening.