Custom
The Mop and the Runaway Mop
Run away and be hired again.
Stand where it happened
- What's there
- Fairground rides filling the town streets
- Legend from
- Hiring-fair custom
- Tone
- Festive
Bring your mop and find a master.
Stratford's Mop is a street fair in October that grew out of hiring fairs, where workers came with a mop to show their skill. The district council says the charter was granted on 28 June 1544. The 2025 Mop was on 11-12 October, and a smaller 'Runaway Mop' follows two weeks later for anyone who wants to change employer. CONFLICT: the council gives the 2025 Runaway Mop as 24-25 October, the Stratford Herald as 25-26 October.