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Cirencester MOP - After the Black Death pandemic decimated the workforce, hiring fairs introduced prospective employers to agricultural labourers and servants who would gather in the street and the market place, sporting a badge or tool to signify their skill.

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, hence the name “mop fair”.Employers would move amongst the workers touting for work – discussing experience and terms, and once agreement was reached the employer would give the employee a small token of money, known as the “fasten-penny”, usually a shilling, which “fastened” the contract for a year.

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Uploaded on October 15, 2021
Taken on October 11, 2021