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Masham Sheep Fair takes place next weekend (September 24-25) in reputedly the largest market square in England, where once a year, many years ago 70,000 sheep were traded in annual sales at the end of the year.

Susan Cunliffe-Lister has been the driving force throughout Masham Sheep Fair’s now 36-year history and said she came up with the idea through a rather circuitous route.

“It came about because I learned to knit and then knitted so quickly that it was all becoming rather expensive for me on the amount of wool I was going through, so I learned to spin. Then I got the sheep. I also wrote about memories of Masham’s great sheep fairs. Then in 1986 everybody was raising money for Africa and a local man I knew Bob Arnold from Masham had worked out there, so we raised funds for Sheep Aid.

“We started Masham Sheep Fair and I then never had time to knit again, until recently.

“Many others have got involved over the years and some that are still with me were here from the start, notably Dick Alderson and the then young farmers David Nesom and Ruth Thompson (nee Nesom).

Masham Sheep Fair is now firmly fixed in the agricultural show season calendar, neatly popping in at the end of the summer season.

Susan said last year’s return after missing 2020 wasn’t without its hairy moments along the way.

“We kept planning to do it and we knew all along that we might have had to cancel but, in the end, everybody was glad to get out and we were fortunate that we had lovely weather. It has always been two days partly because we thought why not have it for more than one day, because of all the work involved, and partly because we might at least strike lucky with the weather on one of the days.

Susan said that the sheep fair has changed from when it was first started in 1986.

“That first year it was much bigger than it is today, although it is still very busy. At that time we had schools putting on plays, fleece carrying races, a rare breeds sale and all sorts of other peripheral events. There was almost too much going on.

“It is now a very popular sheep show amongst all breeds and draws breeders from all over the country. We still have our ever-popular sheep racing that is unique to us and sheepdog demonstrations. It is a great event for the public as they can learn more about sheep and the amazing variety of breeds through livestock auctioneer and Wensleydale sheep breeder Ernie Sherwin who is our wonderful official commentator.

Susan said that while there is no headcount possible to say how many attend Masham Sheep Fair the monies raised for charity can give some kind of indication.

“Over years we have raised something like £220,000 for charities. Since 2014 we have just been raising for just one charity, concentrating on Yorkshire Air Ambulance, which is something that is of great significance to both farming and local people. We thought it fitted well with the event. Last year we raised over £12,000.

If you close your eyes when walking through Masham’s market square on days when there is nothing happening in the town you can be transported back to those days of old, but Susan said that being at the sheep fair can bring it back into even sharper focus.

“The atmosphere generated by having thousands of sheep back in the place where they were traded regularly over a century ago is something that is probably unique to Masham. In days gone by the Masham sheep sales saw everyone around the square and in the town with open house and the inns all full. That’s pretty much what happens now for those who have businesses in and around the square.

“I hope that what we have achieved through Masham Sheep Fair has put Masham a little bit more on the map. It’s certainly something that I know we are all really proud of putting on each year.

This year’s two-day event will also see the unveiling and auction of the work of a local stone sculptor who has crafted a sheep sculpture, plus the hugely popular demonstrations of spinning and weaving in Masham Town Hall.

Susan said there is another side to the event that visitors over the two days don’t see.

“We set everything up, all the sheep pens and everything else that needs to be put in place, on Friday morning and when everybody leaves by about 4 o’cock on Sunday the team bursts back into full flow. By about 6pm-7pm Sunday evening we’ve got all the hurdles away, cleaned the square and it’s all back to normal. If we didn’t do that we wouldn’t be quite so popular in the town!

PANEL

Susan said Masham Sheep Fair would be nothing without its committed team.

“There are many who give all of their time freely. All enquiries come to me, including booking of stalls, if anybody who wants to know anything. Ruth and Hannah take all the sheep entries. I do all the entries for the homespun wool competitions.

Susan is a Dame and returned to the Swinton Estate in Masham three years ago after looking after living at Burton Agnes Hall and Estate for thirty years.

“I look after the gardens at Swinton that produce a lot of fruit and flowers for the hotel. And I’ve gone back to knitting. While at Burton Agnes I was Lord Lieutenant of the East Riding, which took me out a lot in evenings.

“I knit jerseys. Most times my grandchildren say they don’t want scratchy jumpers but this year they might be a bit keener.