Ickwell Fair

George Barnardiston, Lord of the Manor of Ickwell, was granted the right to hold a fair on Ickwell Green in 1676 to be held on the three days 25th to 27th March (unless one day was a Sunday, in which case the day did not count). In 1812 it was stated in a letter that the fair was now held in Beeston rather than Ickwell. Beeston was then divided between the parishes of Northill and Sandy, though today wholly in Ickwell. The Northill hamlets of Hatch and Thorncote, and probably Brook End, were part of the Manor of Beeston, Thorncote and Hatch and so the fair, if it had indeed transferred to Beeston, may have been held in one of these hamlets or on Beeston Green.