Stevenage Fair 2027: likely Wed 22 and Thu 23 September

The Stevenage Charter Fair should be back on Wed 22 and Thu 23 Sept 2027, its usual dates. How the 2026 fair ran, its hours, the road closures and history.

The Stevenage fair, the Charter Fair on the Old Town High Street, has been and gone for 2026: it ran on Tuesday 22 and Wednesday 23 September. On its usual dates, the next one should be on Wednesday 22 and Thursday 23 September 2027. Below is what happened this year, how the 2027 dates are worked out, and our original report on the road closures, kept as a record.

Stevenage fair 2026: what happened

The fair opened at 3pm on Tuesday 22 September and again on Wednesday 23 September, the times Stevenage Borough Council gave on its event listing in the final days before it opened. That listing has since been taken down. Until then no opening hours had been published anywhere; on 19 September, two days out, neither the council’s news pages nor its events page carried the fair at all.

The roads around it were shut under a made county order from 6am on Monday 21 September to 4am on Thursday 24 September: the Old Town High Street to Trinity Road, about 585m of the A602, Drapers Way and Bell Lane. The Monday was for building up and the early hours of Thursday for clearing away. The details, and the diversions that were signed, are below.

The fair itself was the familiar High Street line-up of dodgems, waltzers, smaller rides for young children, hook a duck and food kiosks. Entry is free; you pay per ride. We have not seen any report of the fair being cut short or of a serious incident on either night.

Stevenage fair 2027: when it is likely to be

Our projection: Wednesday 22 and Thursday 23 September 2027, from about 3pm. That is a projection, not an announcement. Nobody has published 2027 dates yet.

The basis is the fair’s own pattern. It is held on 22 and 23 September, the dates it settled on in the nineteenth century (see the history below), with one rule on top: the charter says it cannot be held on a Sunday, as The Comet recorded in 2020. You can see the rule working in recent years:

Year	22 September falls on	Fair days
2023	Friday	Fri 22 and Sat 23 September
2024	Sunday	Mon 23 and Tue 24 September (moved off the Sunday)
2025	Monday	Mon 22 and Tue 23 September
2026	Tuesday	Tue 22 and Wed 23 September
2027	Wednesday	Wed 22 and Thu 23 September (projected)

In 2027 neither day is a Sunday, so the usual dates should stand. The things to watch for are the county’s section 16A road closure notice, which in 2026 appeared on the Public Notice Portal on 3 September, and the council’s event listing, which went up only days before the fair. We will confirm the dates here when either is published.

The 2026 road closures (our original report)

Stevenage Old Town High Street closed to traffic for most of three days for the Charter Fair, along with a 585m length of the A602. What follows is our report from 5 September, before the fair.

Hertfordshire County Council has published its intention to make a temporary order under section 16A of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, banning all vehicles except those needing access. The roads shut from 6am on Monday 21 September until 4am on Thursday 24 September, when the signs are in place. (Hertfordshire County Council traffic notice, 3 September 2026)

Four lengths of road are covered:

the A602 (Hitchin Road / Lytton Way / High Street), from the A1072 Martins Way and Gunnels Wood Road roundabout to the junction with A602 James Way, about 585m
the High Street, from its junction with the A602 High Street south east to Trinity Road, about 652m
Drapers Way, from the High Street south west to Primett Road, about 72m
Bell Lane, from the High Street south west, its entire length

That is roughly 1.3km in total, running continuously from the Gunnels Wood Road roundabout down through the Old Town to Trinity Road.

The signed diversions

The notice gives an alternative route for the two longer closures and says there is none for Drapers Way or Bell Lane, though access will be kept open “wherever possible”.

For the A602 stretch:

A1072 Gunnels Wood Road, A1155 Fairlands Way, A602 Lytton Way and Trinity Road
or Letchmore Road, Sish Lane, Trinity Road, A602 Lytton Way, A1155 Fairlands Way and A1072 Gunnels Wood Road

For the High Street:

Trinity Road, A602 Lytton Way, A1155 Fairlands Way and A1072 Gunnels Wood Road
or Letchmore Road, Sish Lane, Trinity Road, A602 Lytton Way, A1155 Fairlands Way and A1072 Gunnels Wood Road

Both routes push traffic west onto the Gunnels Wood and Fairlands Way ring. If you normally cut through the Old Town to reach the north of the town, plan a different route for those three days.

What it means for you

The order is an intention rather than a decision, which is the standard shape for an event closure. The dates are firm enough to plan around, but the closure “will only take effect on the days and times indicated by signs on or near the Road”, so the signs on site govern.

If you live on or off the High Street, access is maintained where it can be, but expect the street itself to be given over to the fair from Monday morning.
If you drive to work through the Old Town, use Gunnels Wood Road and Fairlands Way for those three days.
If you park in the town centre instead, the council’s on-street bays are the subject of a separate consultation that closes on 18 September. We have written that up in our piece on the pay-by-plate order, and general tariffs are on our parking page.
Bus services through the Old Town will divert. Stop-level updates for Hertfordshire are published by Intalink.

Enquiries about the closures go to Jane Brown at the Norwich and Eastern Counties Section of the Showmen’s Guild, on 01954 232604, the contact named on the notice.

Neither the traffic order nor Stevenage Borough Council has yet published the fair’s opening hours or its exact trading days. The council’s own Old Town page lists “the traditional Stevenage Charter Fair, with rides and attractions for families to enjoy” among the Old Town’s regular events. (Stevenage Borough Council) We will add the times when they appear.

The fair is old, but the September date is not

The Charter Fair is usually introduced as running unbroken since 1281. The published record is more interesting than that, and it says the fair has moved around the calendar more than once.

The Victoria County History of Hertfordshire sets out the grants:

1281: a fair granted to the Abbot of Westminster at Stevenage, “to be held on the vigil, feast, and morrow of St. John the Baptist”, which is 23 to 25 June. A market was granted in the same year, to be held on Mondays.
1448: both confirmed by Henry VI.
1624: the Bishop of London granted three fairs, on Ascension Day, St Swithun’s Day (15 July) and the Friday after. The market day moved to Friday.
1792: fairs held for nine days before Easter, nine days before Whit Sunday, and on the first Friday in September.
1821: the September fair held on the 22nd, and by the time the county history was compiled, “it is now held on the 22nd and 23rd”.

(Victoria County History, A History of the County of Hertford, volume 3, pages 139 to 148, via British History Online)

So the medieval charter fair was a midsummer event. The September date only appears in the record in 1792, and it settles on 22 September during the nineteenth century. That volume was published in 1912, so “now” means then, but the 22nd and 23rd have stuck: in 2026 they fall on the Tuesday and Wednesday inside this month’s closure window, with the Monday and the early hours of Thursday left for building up and clearing away.

Timeline of the Stevenage fair's dates from 1281 to today: 1281 grant for 23 to 25 June, confirmed 1448, 1624 Ascension Day and St Swithun's Day, 1792 first Friday in September, 1821 the 22nd of September, and today the 22nd and 23rd — The fair's date has moved from midsummer to late September over seven centuries.

Where to check before you travel

Hertfordshire County Council’s roadworks map, linked from its roadworks and road closures page, carries county and borough road closures with dates.
Our own Stevenage roadworks and travel page is updated every week with what is shut and what is coming.
Copies of the county’s traffic orders can be inspected free of charge at Farnham House, Six Hills Way, Stevenage, on weekdays.

Update, 19 September 2026

Two things have changed since this page was published.

The closure order has been made. It was an intention when we first reported it. A notice published on 17 September confirms Hertfordshire County Council has made the order, with the same window: 6am on Monday 21 September to 4am on Thursday 24 September.

The fair’s own opening hours are still not published, two days before it starts. We rechecked the council’s news pages and its events listing on 19 September. The fair appears on neither. The only fixed times anywhere in a published document are the road closure hours above. The contact named on the order is Jane Brown of the Norwich and Eastern Counties Section of the Showmen’s Guild, on 01954 232604.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Stevenage fair in 2027?

No date has been announced. On the fair’s usual pattern it should be on Wednesday 22 and Thursday 23 September 2027. It is held on 22 and 23 September unless one of those days is a Sunday, and in 2027 neither is.

When was the Stevenage Charter Fair in 2026?

Tuesday 22 and Wednesday 23 September 2026, on the Old Town High Street, opening at 3pm on both days. The roads were closed from 6am on Monday 21 September to 4am on Thursday 24 September.

What time does the Stevenage fair open?

In 2026 it opened at 3pm on both days and ran into the evening. Earlier years followed the same pattern: open from 3pm until late.

Is the Stevenage Charter Fair free?

Entry is free, as it is a street fair on the public High Street. Rides, games and food are paid for individually at each stall.

Which roads close for the Stevenage fair?

In 2026: the Old Town High Street down to Trinity Road, about 585m of the A602 from the Gunnels Wood Road roundabout to James Way, Drapers Way and Bell Lane. Diversions ran via Gunnels Wood Road, Fairlands Way, Lytton Way and Trinity Road.

How old is the Stevenage Charter Fair?

A fair was first granted at Stevenage in 1281, but it was then a June fair. The September date appears in the record in 1792 and settled on 22 September by 1821.