St Giles Fair

The St Giles Fair is held every year in September. St Giles Street is closed to traffic for two days for the fair which also extends into Magdalen Street to the south and Banbury Road and Woodstock Road to the north.
     The fair dates back to 1625 when it was a parish festival to celebrate the feast of the patron saint, St. Giles. In the 18th century it was a toy fair, then in the 19th century it was a general children's fair. Queen Elizabeth I stayed in Oxford between 3–10 September 1567 and watched the fair from the windows of St John's College on the east side of St Giles'.
     Each of the boys got some pocket money for a few rides and treats.