At this same inn Cobbett, in one
of his _Rural Rides_, had an adventure with mine host and pushed his
opinions down the throat of the assembled company in his usual manner.
This inn, and the "Angel," were great places in the posting days, when
the Exeter Road was one of the most important arteries in England.
They are among the pleasant survivals of eighteenth-century Andover,
for there is nothing that appears on the surface older than that
period, except the Norman door of the churchyard--all that is left of
the fine building pulled down in 1840 to make way for the present
imitation Early English church--and a piece of wall on the north side,
a remnant of a cell belonging to the Benedictine Abbey of Saumur.
About three miles west of Andover is Weyhill, a village celebrated for
its fair and immortalized in _The Mayor of Casterbridge_. It at one
time claimed to be the largest in England, but in these changed days
its rural importance has diminished. The fair takes place in October
and now covers four consecutive days instead of the original six. The
first day is Sheep Fair followed by "Mop" (hiring), Pleasure, and Hop
Fairs with horses every day and several side-shows such as "Cheese
Fair" and the like.
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