Elephant fayre
Encyclopedia
The Elephant Fayre was held in the stately home of Port Eliot
, St Germans, fayre" in every sense of the word, it featured a host of different types of performances, media, experimental theatre and rock, punk, folk and reggae music. The first Fayre was tiny, attracting only 1500 or so, but the attendance increased over the years as the organisers booked better known acts, such as Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure and The Fall. The organisers decided to close down the festival after 1986 because of hard drug
use and vandalism.
in mid-Cornwall approached the Port Eliot estate and asked if it could be held in the idyllic grounds. The estate office agreed a price, and there began the Elephant Fayre, one of the most eclectic festivals of the 1980s. The festival ran from 1981–1986, beginning with some 1,500 visitors over four days, and featured a mix of music, theatre and visual arts. Over the years the festival grew, attracting crowds of up to 30,000 and bands such as The Cure
, The Fall and Siouxie and the Banshees. By 1986 the festival, like so many of the time, had become victim of its own success. The tolerance of the free festival culture of the 70s was over, as New Age Travellers
became a focus for disorder across the country. Despite the tolerance of the then Lord Eliot
and fellow festival benefactor Michael Eavis
at Glastonbury
(known affectionately in festival crew parlance as 'The Good Lord and The Worthy Farmer') the travellers put paid, it was said, to the Elephant Fayre and seriously compromised Glastonbury.
Whilst the festival at Port Eliot had built up a reputation as one of the best in the country, with extraordinary acts and the liberal attitude of the organisers, it was alleged the travellers had taken advantage and destroyed the festival. The burning down of the oldest tree in the park, looting of the village surgery and the robbing of stall-holders prompted Lord Eliot and fellow organisers to make the 1986 festival the last.
The Elephant Fayre has reinvented itself and is now the Port Eliot Festival. It describes itself as having "All the brains of a literary festival. All the soul of a music festival." It is held mid summer.
Port Eliot
Port Eliot in St Germans, Cornwall, is the seat of the Eliot family, whose current head is Peregrine Eliot, 10th Earl of St Germans. Port Eliot comprises a house with its own church which is the parish church of St Germans. An earlier church building was the cathedral for the whole of Cornwall...
, St Germans, fayre" in every sense of the word, it featured a host of different types of performances, media, experimental theatre and rock, punk, folk and reggae music. The first Fayre was tiny, attracting only 1500 or so, but the attendance increased over the years as the organisers booked better known acts, such as Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure and The Fall. The organisers decided to close down the festival after 1986 because of hard drug
Hard and soft drugs
Hard and Soft drugs are terms to distinguish between psychoactive drugs that are addictive and perceived as especially damaging and drugs that are believed to be non-addictive and with fewer dangers associated with their use...
use and vandalism.
History
In 1980 a small festival which had outgrown its site at PolgoothPolgooth
Polgooth is a former mining village in south Cornwall, United Kingdom. It lies mainly in the parish of St Mewan and partly in the parish of St Ewe...
in mid-Cornwall approached the Port Eliot estate and asked if it could be held in the idyllic grounds. The estate office agreed a price, and there began the Elephant Fayre, one of the most eclectic festivals of the 1980s. The festival ran from 1981–1986, beginning with some 1,500 visitors over four days, and featured a mix of music, theatre and visual arts. Over the years the festival grew, attracting crowds of up to 30,000 and bands such as The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
, The Fall and Siouxie and the Banshees. By 1986 the festival, like so many of the time, had become victim of its own success. The tolerance of the free festival culture of the 70s was over, as New Age Travellers
New age travellers
New Age Travellers are groups of people who often espouse New Age or hippie beliefs and travel between music festivals and fairs in order to live in a community with others who hold similar beliefs. Their transport and homes consist of vans, lorries, buses, narrowboats and caravans converted into...
became a focus for disorder across the country. Despite the tolerance of the then Lord Eliot
Peregrine Eliot, 10th Earl of St Germans
Peregrine Nicholas Eliot, 10th Earl of St Germans was born on 2 January 1941 to Nicholas Richard Michael Eliot, 9th Earl of St Germans and his wife Helen Mary née Villers ....
and fellow festival benefactor Michael Eavis
Michael Eavis
Athelstan Joseph Michael Eavis, CBE , is an English dairy farmer and the founder of the Glastonbury Festival, which takes place on his farm.-Personal life:...
at Glastonbury
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
(known affectionately in festival crew parlance as 'The Good Lord and The Worthy Farmer') the travellers put paid, it was said, to the Elephant Fayre and seriously compromised Glastonbury.
Whilst the festival at Port Eliot had built up a reputation as one of the best in the country, with extraordinary acts and the liberal attitude of the organisers, it was alleged the travellers had taken advantage and destroyed the festival. The burning down of the oldest tree in the park, looting of the village surgery and the robbing of stall-holders prompted Lord Eliot and fellow organisers to make the 1986 festival the last.
The Elephant Fayre has reinvented itself and is now the Port Eliot Festival. It describes itself as having "All the brains of a literary festival. All the soul of a music festival." It is held mid summer.