In 1889 14,000 sheep were penned and prices ranged from 55/- to 62/- per head. Prices were a little higher in September but milch cows only sold at from £10 l0s. 0d. to £14 and no calves were offered.
The Palmsun fair was a fairly flourishing institution in the early part of the present century. In 1905 there were some 10,000 sheep offered and these sold for an average price of £3, being an advance of about 5/- on the previous year. The September and Michaelmas fairs were still held but were much reduced in importance and "there was reason for the general complaint that prices were not remunerative to the grazier."
I remember the late Mr Tom Glew, who died in 1934, at the age of 90, telling me how he had attended the Palmsun Fair of 1874 when a record number of 45,000 sheep were penned, and had witnessed the steady decline and final extinction of Caistor's markets and fairs. He attributed this to several causes, including the fall in demand for long-wool sheep and the increasing patronage of the weekly auctions at Brigg, Gainsborough and elsewhere.
The agricultural depression of the 1930's finally brought these ancient institutions to an end.

"No, Sir, there is nothing which has yet been contrived by man by which so much happiness is provided as by a good tavern or inn."

DR JOHNSON

The dates given are not necessarily terminal but are those at which the landlords occur.

The George, existing 1755. Robert Haddlesey, landlord.
1792, Robert Haddlesey, Junior, whose widow Barbara, nee Bullock, gave up The George about 1807, married the
Rev. Samuel Turner, Senior, and died in 1827, aged 63.
She was a native of Goxhill and was celebrated for her
beauty.