History

Traditionally the arrival of the cuckoo was seen as the onset of good weather and the Downton tradition of “opening the gate” to let the cuckoo through is the basis of the fair.

Factually the Downton fairs are first recorded in 1249 and in 1289 a fair was claimed on the eve, day and morrow of St. Laurence (9th-11th April). Early fairs died out and in 1676 during the reign of King Charles II, two annual fairs were granted on 12th April and 21st September.   These were mainly for cattle, horses and sheep.  When the term Cuckoo Fair came to be used seems to be unknown, as is any possible links with pagan festivities. The Cuckoo Princess only dates from the revival of the fair in 1979 but there may have been an earlier Cuckoo King.

Modern Fair

The annual Downton Cuckoo Fair has been running for over a quarter of a century in its current format, and attracts up to 20,000 people to our village for Maypole, morris dancing and folk entertainment. The event also features over 300 craft stalls and craft demonstrations, line dancing, street entertainment, music, the Downton Brass Band and plenty for the children.

The modern Downton Cuckoo Fair is delivered by Downton Cuckoo Fair Limited.  This is a company limited by guarantee, and registered in England and Wales under Company No. 04748797 – please the Companies House entry for details.  Registered Office: West View, Slab Lane, Downton, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP5 3PS.

The aims of the company, as recorded in its formal memorandum of association as registered with Companies House, are:

  1. To create an event (or events) to allow clubs, organisations and charities local to the village of Downton to raise funds;
  2. To sponsor and promote live entertainment in the village of Downton;
  3. To encourage art and craft in the village of Downton by providing art and craft marquees at the annual fair and arranging art and craft demonstrations;
  4. To assist in the provision of leisure time activities in the interests of social welfare with the object of improving the condition of life of the inhabitants of parish of Downton in Wiltshire and its neighbourhood;
  5. To raise funds to cover the costs of advertising, insuring and staging an annual fair to be held in the village of Downton;
  6. To promote and stage an annual fair in the village of Downton; and
  7. To use monies to support fund and/or promote any of the objects either by way of donation or by way of loan and upon any terms, which the Directors see fit, in their absolute discretion to impose.

Ten things you may not know about the fair

  1. The first Downton Cuckoo Fair was officially recorded in 1530 when a cuckoo was let into the village and fairs continued to be held until just after the First World War. The Cuckoo Fair was resurrected in 1979 marking the arrival of the cuckoo and the coming of summer.
  2. The Cuckoo Fair is non-profit making and run entirely by local volunteers, who meet over nine months prior to the day to ensure it runs smoothly. The main aim of the Fair is to provide a fun village event which includes live entertainment whilst also enabling local organisations to raise funds for their own use.
  3. It is estimated that since 1980 in excess of £1 million has been raised by local organisations which take part and this has created a very important annual source of income for them.
  4. In 2022, it cost just over £38,000 to hold the Fair. Major costs included medical cover, park and ride mini buses, advertising, portaloo provision, marquee hire, entertainment, security, insurance and post Fair cleaning.
  5. In 2022, the Fair had an income of just under £38,000. The major source of revenue came from the stallholders (75%) and car parking (12%). Donations, advertisers, souvenir sales and marquee hire made up the remainder.
  6. Since 2013, costs have increased by 27% but income has only risen by 8%. This discrepancy has been driven mainly by new Health and Safety regulations, Wiltshire Council Event Management requirements as well as increased insurance and marquee costs.
  7. The Fair is heavily dependent on donations from the significant local fundraisers and other organisations who benefit from the Fair to cover the costs. Any profits generated are either ploughed back into the running of the next Fair or donated to local causes. Past donations have included the Scanner Appeal, the commissioning of the Memorial Gardens gates and the Sea Cadets for a new defibrillator. The Downton Christmas tree and lights were donated to the village by the Cuckoo Fair until 2020.
  8. A Cuckoo Fair princess is chosen each year and she must either live within the Parish boundary or attend a local school. There used to be a Cuckoo Fair Prince who became a Cuckoo Fair King the next year but difficulties with recruitment meant that this didn’t last.
  9. The Committee is always seeking new local people to join them in managing the Fair. Some members of the Committee have been serving since 1979 so they would love to welcome some younger members! Contact Chairman, Tony Pike, on 01725 511332 for details.
  10. The Cuckoo Fair by numbers: 20,000 people attend on the day; 4,000 programmes are distributed on the day; 2,750 car parking spaces are provided which in turn raise funds for local organisations; 250 stallholders to browse; 40 feet tall Maypole is erected; 20 Maypole Dancers to watch; 15 different Entertainers to enjoy; 2 Cuckoo Fair attendants; 1 Cuckoo Fair Princess is crowned.

Ten further things you may not know about the Downton Cuckoo Fair

  1. It takes 22 volunteers over six months to plan for and run the annual Downton Cuckoo Fair. This is not including our volunteers who help us around Event time. This is to provide just six official hours of a safe and enjoyable Cuckoo Fair.
  2. Planning for the Cuckoo Fair runs from early October right up to Fair day. In 2026 it will be held on the 2nd May.
  3. Every year we have to satisfy requirements from the Wiltshire Council’s Event Safety Advisory Group, Government GDPR regulations, Event Insurance policies, the Parish Council, Safeguarding regulations, DBS checking, Event Industry Forum (Purple Guide), Health & Safety Executive, Wiltshire Police and UK Counter Terrorism, by updating our Build Plan, to include Medical Cover, Security cover, our Event Management Plan, Welfare Centre arrangements, Training Roles and Responsibilities, Terms and Conditions and our Risk Analysis. (Phew!)
  4. We had 88 individual issues/improvements that were raised post Cuckoo Fair 2025 which we use to improve the Fair.
  5. We have recruited a new “Village Liaison Team” which will be dealing with queries from local residents,clubs, schools, charities and local businesses. They will also deliver important information regarding theFair.
  6. There will be up to 3 open Stakeholder meetings in the village before Cuckoo Fair 2026 where we hopethat residents and interested parties can come along, contribute and ask any questions. The first one willbe on the 19th November at 7.00 pm. The venue is the Baptist Church, South Lane.
  7. Our Cuckoo Fair sponsor Toomers Ltd last year generously offered to design, build and position our new Hostile Vehicle Mitigation barriers. All done free of charge. Toomers Ltd have agreed to provide the barriers again and have generously sponsored the 2026 Cuckoo Fair. We are truly grateful to Toomers Ltd once again. Also Batt Broadbent Solicitors have generously contributed to the printing of our Day Leaflet. We are of course indebted to them for helping in this way.
  8. In 2024 we recruited 10 new Core Team members each with a defined role and responsibility. They havemade a huge positive contribution to the running of the Fair. This was the reason we could run the 2025 Fair.
  9. The Cuckoo Fair is run on a Not for Profit basis. The aim is simply to cover our costs. No volunteer financially benefits by being part of the Core Team. Our Company Accounts can be seen under CompaniesHouse.
  10. This year we will have some Cuckoo Fair Business Cards which we will distribute to future possible Stallholders or Entertainers. Our contact details will be on those cards.

We hope you enjoyed reading some further things you may not know about Downton Cuckoo Fair! If you would like to volunteer your time around or on the Event Day to help, then please contact us.