English Fair Weldam Castle 2024 Impressions

An impression of the Fair day near the Castle will follow soon.

Apart from the Fair mostly taking place at the grounds near Weldam Castle also our Chapel was open for visits.

On the beautiful sunny Saturday-morning, Sept 14, day of the Fair, at about 10 o’clock, I walked down the path to St.Mary’s Chapel. Everything was still quiet, nobody there, only a few birds singing, and the sun gave everything a golden look, quite a contrast with the buzzing Fair-grounds at that time! Everything was waiting for the things to come on that special day. Beautiful!

I opened the Chapel, sat down, waiting for the musicians that had been invited to play some music in the Chapel when people would come to visit it. From previous years I knew that usually visitors would not show up before, say, 11:30 a.m., but guess what? At 10:15 a.m. the very first 2 visitors were already there! That looked promising for the rest of the day!

And indeed, there was a constant stream of people visiting the Chapel throughout the day. As a host I did try to keep count carefully, but sometimes so many people came in at once, even entire families, some of them with up to 5 children, that, in order to keep the ‘bookkeeping’ a bit reliable, I decided to not count the children.

It is interesting to meet so many visitors and try to have a little chat with them and tell them about the Anglican community connected to St.Mary’s. It is also very interesting to notice the various types of visitors: some people had never even been in the region, they just came, from anywhere in the country, for a short holiday here, learned about the Fair more or less by accident, and were very amazed about the beauty of the area and everything (“I had never heard of Weldam before”).

Then there is a group that know about the Chapel and have gone past it many times, but never had the
opportunity to see the inside (“We have been here on our bikes, but the church is always locked up”, so the host has to explain).

Next is a group that have memories of a one-time visit, often years ago, for a special occasion such as a wedding or funeral, and they are happy to see the Chapel again. Far most of the visitors are very interested, ask questions etc., often about the building, or the Anglican Church (is it Protestant or Roman Catholic?), why is it here in the middle of nowhere?, why are the texts on the walls all in Dutch and not in English? Is there a service here every Sunday, really?? etc.

It is a continuous effort for the host to give the information they are interested in. There are also quite a few people that like to sit and contemplate and light a candle. And finally, there is a small group of people that seem a bit shy, try to ‘sneak’ into the Chapel behind a group of other people, no eye-contact, no chat, one might think they feel ‘scared’ that the host might try to ‘convert’ them….. no problem, they get every opportunity to look around.

All in all it is a very interesting experience and kind of rewarding, but it tends to become a little bit more ‘exhausting’ the more the day goes on…… but nevertheless this host loves doing it ….

This year there was ‘life’ music all day. There was music performed by a lady playing the flute and accompanied by a well-known organist, and there was a lady playing a Celtic harp. The flute + organ-music sounded very nice, Bach etc. At a certain moment I noticed a lady with 2 little childrensitting in a pew and listening to the music. One of those kids, a little boy, of age 3 or 4 one would guess, turned around in the pew to watch the performers and he was gently bobbing up and down to the rhythm, he clearly enjoyed it! Surely a future musician! The harp-music was also very nice, Irish / Scottish music mainly, so original and of very gentle atmosphere, several visitors commentedpositively about it.

At the end of the day I found that a total of 196 people had gone through the Chapel! (Children not counted). A record number! In previous years it usually was just over 100, but this year was exceptional! It was hard work sometimes, but it was enjoyable and certainly worth it!

Next Fair 2025

The English Castle Fair for 2025 is planned for Saturday 13^th September 2024, to start at 10.30. All are welcome and we look forward to seeing you!

Contact: Castle Fair Weldam : castlefairweldam@gmail.com

English Fair Weldam

Welcome to the annual English Fair at Weldam Castle, located between Goor and Diepenheim, on Saturday 13 September 2025 from 10:30- 17:00 to benefit the Anglican Church Twente.

Every year in late summer, you can enjoy this small-scale Fair, where you will be surprised with a variety of stalls and demonstrations in the beautiful rural surroundings of the Weldam estate.

Besides some well-known participants from previous years, there are new attractions and demonstrations. The offer ranges from brocante, knitting, quilts and feltwork , to bookbinding, jewellery and wooden toys.

Castle Weldam is located on the N824 between Goor and Diepenheim.

There is ample free parking. The entrance fee is Euro 7.00 per person, children up to 18 years free.

With your entrance ticket, you can also compete for great prizes.

Castle Fair 2022- An Impression.

Opening

Saturday 10th September and the weather was beautiful. The English Castle Fair could commence. Queues started forming already at about 10.00- visitors who did not want to miss a thing!

The Fair started at 10.30. The Highland Regiment of Pipes and Drums played a wonderful opening march, from the Castle avenue up to the entrance of the grounds. After this the gates opened and the visitors poured in.

Stand Holders

Well before 08.00 the first marketstand holders were present on the Castle Fair grounds, setting up their stands. The marketstands had been set up the previous day, so they could immediately start to unpack and lay out their wares. Flowers and plants, Antiques, Honey and Bee related products, Bamboo cushions, Fragrant soaps and Jewellery, Children’s books, Baking and Cooking wares, Wool articles and Twents Beer… and many more, all at the English Fair.

This year there were more than 40 stands, more than ever in previous years. As well as the regular stands, there were 10 new stand, which gave a large variety.

St. Mary’s regular stands were also there this year: the Jams and Chutneys and the stand of Theda’s handcrafts and self-made cards which she presented, assisted by her son Daniël.

Tearoom

St. Mary’s Tearoom was fully prepared this year, with more than 80 cakes, which had been home-baked by the baking team, supervised by our head baker Caroline. The whole day long there was a stream of people queuing up for tea and coffee and making their choice from a wide selection of cakes. Then they made their way to the large outside tearoom terrace to enjoy their refreshments, with a view over the forecourt and the Castle and some of the stands of the Fair.

Raffle

All of the stand holders had donated something for the raffle. Printed on each visitor’s entrance ticket was a number for the raffle, which meant that, on presenting their ticket at the raffle stand, they went home with a lovely prize. By the end of the day all raffle items had been collected by the many delighted visitors.

Dog show

This year the dog’s stole the show -and of course, we gave it pride of place! There were about 20 dogs taking part, all under the leadership of Joyce, our dog lover at St. Mary’s. All dogs and their delighted owners were given a treat to take home with them. It was a joy to see and definitely an event not to be missed from the English Fair.

Music and Dance

Musical entertainment was provided by the Highland Regiment Pipes en Drums, who played at regular intervals throughout the day. As well as this, the Morris Dancers took to the centre courtyard on numerous occasions, giving a wonderful show of great traditional English folklore.

Queen Elizabeth II

It goes without saying that this year the Fair paid tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away on 8^th September. A separate stand was decorated with a photograph, flowers, candles and a Book of Remembrance for the Queen, for visitors and stand holders to write their wishes of condolence. St. Mary’s church arranged for these condolences to be sent to England, in accordance with all condolence wishes for the Royal Family.

At the strike of 12.00 midday there was a short remembrance ceremony. Our Chaplain Jacque read from the scriptures and we held a minute silence after the playing of the British National Anthem.

All present- those working behind the scenes, visitors and stand holders- were deeply moved by these events; in this way all at the Fair showed respect and dignity for Queen Elizabeth II.

Gardens

The Weldam Castle gardens were specially open to all visitors on this day of the Fair. There were 2 guided tours during the course of the day, thanks to Vivian, one of the residents on the Weldam estate. Visitors could also walk through and admire the gardens at their own convenience.

Chapel

Also for the duration of the Fair, St. Mary’s Chapel was open to visitors. The Chapel, which is part of the Castle Weldam estate, has been in use by members of the congregation of the Anglican Church for more than 40 years, providing for a service on every Sunday at 10.30.

Moe than 125 visitors went to see the chapel during the day of the Fair, where in all peace and quiet they could light a candle, walk around the chapel to see this beautiful historic building in Twente or have a talk to those present from the church congregation, who provided assistance.   

A Word of Thanks

At the end of the day, all of the more than 950 visitors made their way home, after a memorable day’s visit to the Castle Fair. There were many happy and satisfied visitors, stand holders and members of the Anglican church, who once again were responsible for the organisation of this event. All involved deserve a big round of applause.

And last but not least, we wish to give a huge word of thanks to the Solms Family, for once again, opening their wonderful location to us and allowing us the privilege of making use of it. A unique setting for a very special day.

Many grateful thanks.

Contact: Castle Fair Weldam : castlefairweldam@gmail.com