Three labourers with "facks" (spades) at an Irish hiring fair
Hiring fairs, also called statute or mop fairs, were regular events in pre-modern Great Britain and Ireland where labourers were hired for fixed terms.[1] They date from the time of Edward III, and his attempt to regulate the labour market by the Statute of Labourers in 1351 at a time of a serious national shortage of labour after the Black Death. Subsequent legislation, in particular the Statute of Apprentices of 1563, legislated for a particular day when the high constables of the shire would proclaim the stipulated rates of pay and conditions of employment for the following year.[2] Because so many people gathered at a fair, it quickly turned into the major place for matching workers and employers.[3] Hiring fairs continued well into the 20th century, up to the Second World War in some places but their function as employment exchanges was diminished by the Corn Production Act 1917. This legislation guaranteed minimum prices for wheat and oats, specified a minimum wage for agricultural workers and established the Agricultural Wages Board, to ensure stability for farmers and a share of this stability for agricultural workers.
Annual hiring fairs were held, during Martinmas week at the end of November, in the market towns of the East Riding of Yorkshire in places like Beverley, Bridlington, Driffield, Hedon, Hornsea, Howden, Hull, Malton, Patrington, Pocklington, and York.[4] Both male and female agricultural servants would gather in order to bargain with prospective employers and, hopefully, secure a position for the coming year. The yearly hiring included board and lodging for single employees for the whole year with wages being paid at the end of the year's service. These fairs attracted all the other trappings of a fair, and they turned into major feasts in their own right, and attracted poor reputations for the drunkenness and immorality involved.[5] Later, when wage rates and conditions were no longer officially set, the hiring fair remained a useful institution, especially as much employment in rural areas was by annual agreement. Prospective workers would gather in the street or market place, often sporting some sort of badge or tool to denote their speciality. Shepherds held a crook or a tuft of wool, cowmen brought wisps of straw, dairymaids carried a milking stool or pail and housemaids held brooms or mops; this is why some hiring fairs were known as mop fairs.[6] Employers would look them over and, if they were thought fit, hire them for the coming year, handing over a shilling to seal the arrangement.[7]
^
"The Farmer's Magazine – Google Books". 1858. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
^
"Journal of Agriculture - Google Books". 1863. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
^
"Peak district local history, customs, wildlife, transport - Peakland Heritage". Peak land heritage. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
^
"Pocklington History - Pocklington Hiring Fair". Pocklingtonhistory.com. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
^
Horn, Pamela (1984). The Changing Countryside in ... - Google Books. ISBN 9780838632321. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
^Cite error: The named reference bur70 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^
Brand (1849). "Observations on the Popular ... - Google Books". Retrieved 2009-11-05.
and 22 Related for: Hiring and mop fairs information
Hiringfairs, also called statute or mopfairs, were regular events in pre-modern Great Britain and Ireland where labourers were hired for fixed terms...
their luck with in-person job fairs. Hiringandmopfairs JACQUELYN SMITH . 11 tips to get something useful out of a job fair . http://www.businessinsider...
annual fairs – a livestock fair in the spring, and a hiringfair or Mopfair at Michaelmas. Nearby Marlborough's tradition of holding one Mop each side...
stool or pail and housemaids held brooms or mops, this is why some hiringfairs were known as mopfairs. Employers would look them over and, if they were...
the town; and Michaelmas Day (29 September) a quarter day, the date for the election of town officials, and the day when hiring or mopfairs were held...
in the weeks prior to the event. On 9 and 10 October, the town holds the annual mopfair. Originally a hiringfair where people came to seek employment...
often demonstrated in trade shows, and are called "tech demos". Product demonstrations have been a staple of state fairs for many years. The first product...
vacuum cleaners and carpet sweepers remove surface dust and debris, chamois leather and squeegees are used for window-cleaning, andmops are used for washing...
October 17, 2016. Scott, A. O. (December 13, 2002). "FILM REVIEW; Puttin' Down Mop, Puttin' On the Ritz". The New York Times. Retrieved October 2, 2021. "J...
which was short for "Klook-mop", in imitation of the sound this combination produced. At the 1939 New York World's Fair, Clarke played opposite a band...
of Social Affairs and Citizenship, and most episodes focus on that department's incumbent minister and a core cast of advisors and civil servants, under...
The table lists the IATA airline designators, the ICAO airline designators and the airline call signs (telephony designator). Historical assignments are...
television sitcom Petticoat Junction. There were 74 episodes in black-and-white and 148 in color. During its first four years, Petticoat Junction was a...
Doggett seems to have coined the phrase in 1959, and the rest of the media picked it up. A mop-up pitcher or "mop-up man" is usually the bullpen's least effective...
starring Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. The series included 54 episodes and two specials that aired between December 2, 2003, and August 5, 2007, in the...
and sexually assaulted with a mop handle by bully Montgomery De La Cruz (Timothy Granaderos) during the finale also caused controversy from fans and critics...
Beaver premiered on October 3, 1959 and concluded on June 25, 1960. It consisted of 39 episodes shot in black-and-white, each running approximately 25...
2019, the Mercury announced that Taurasi's spouse, Penny Taylor, had been hired as an assistant coach. Taurasi started the 2019 WNBA season on the injured...
Thousands Cheer (1943), in which he performed a mock-love dance with a mop. Unusually, in Pilot No. 5, Kelly played the antagonist. He achieved a significant...
during the Great Depression and World War II. It was created by Earl Hamner Jr., based on his 1961 book Spencer's Mountain and the 1963 film of the same...
publishers have added Roud numbers to books and liner notes, as has also been done with Child Ballad numbers and Laws numbers. This list (like the article...