Hastings and St Leonards Observer - Saturday 25 November 1876

HAYWARD'S HEATH

THE FAIR.—Our small fair, held outside the Sergison’s Arms Inn on Saturday, attracted a great many buyers and traders in stock, more particularly in the pig line. The weather turned out most wretched just after noon, but “Cheap Jack” did a roaring trade, and the keeper of the stall of leather gaiters was unusually busy. Very few horses and cows on view, but the latter were very fair, the horses not being up to the standard.

Notes:

• “Cheap Jack”: A colloquial term used in the 19th century (and earlier) for a street or fairground trader, often associated with selling inexpensive or flashy goods.

• Leather gaiters: Protective coverings worn over the lower trousers and shoes, popular in rural areas and among workers in the 19th century.

• It suggests livestock quality was mixed: pigs were popular, cows “very fair,” but horses were substandard.