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Notes: The Harlow Bush Fair was principally a market for the sale of horses and cattle that had been brought from as far west as Ireland and as far north as Scotland, to Barnet, the first stopping place out of London on the old Great North road. Any unsold stock from Barnet was taken to Harlow Bush Common.

The fair however, had many attractions beyond the sale of livestock and many people from the forest villages would come to Harlow Bush Common to drink, picnic, be entertained and generally partake in the 'fun of the fair'. In the present work, Rowlandson depicts the wide range of entertainment that the fair offered.

The Harlow Bush Fair was abolished in 1879 when two influential gentlemen, Mr Arkwright, of Mark Hall, and Percy Watlington, were authorised to keep the common clear for the use of commoners and, if necessary, to send their men to remove any caravans or booths which the showmen may have set up.

Victorian morality led in 1871 to the passing of the Fairs Act which provided that where the local magistrates considered that a fair was the cause of drunkenness and 'grievous immorality' they could apply to the Home Secretary for the abolition of the fair, and in Essex some 68 local fairs were abolished by the turn of the century.