St Giles Fair, which takes place in Oxford today and tomorrow, is one of the most famous in England.

It is a favourite with fairground families - and with the thousands of people who flock to it from all over Oxfordshire every year.

The earliest reference to the fair is in 1625 when it was probably a small parish festival to celebrate the feast of the patron saint, St Giles.

There is little further mention of it until the early 19th century when it began to grow into one of the biggest events of the year in Oxford. By the 1830s, the fair had become an annual holiday for the working classes and the arrival of the Great Western Railway in Oxford in 1844 brought even more crowds in from the countryside. Heavy drinking often led to rowdy scenes.

The Victorians gradually tamed the drunken behaviour and turned the fair into a more sober affair.

The mayor made orders banning beer booths and the throwing of "rice, flour, meal, sand or any similar substance".

But although standards improved, some people were still not satisfied with fairgoers' behaviour.

In 1888, a reader wrote to The Oxford Times: "What would our grandmothers have thought of girls, 16 or 18, parading the fair alone, dressed in jockey caps, sailor's knot handkerchiefs, open jackets and waistcoats and smoking cigars or cigarettes?"

In many cities, traditional fairs have been exiled to the suburbs but, despite the traffic jams it causes, St Giles has kept its city centre site.

Today, the fair provides fun, laughter and excitement to people of all ages.

Some of the showmen and women have been coming to St Giles for many years but there is always something new to attract the crowds.

This year, a £1m ride called Top Buzz is adding to the thrills of the two-day extravaganza.

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