1-191-502 - © London Museum/Heritage-Images

'St Bartholomew's Fair, Smithfield', (c1737-c1743?). This view represents the notoriously rough and rowdy fair towards the end of its heyday. The reduction of the fair from a fortnight to three or four days took place in 1735 and in 1737 the Licencing Act limited the performance of plays, one of the fair's noted attractions, to patent theatres. St Bartholomew's Hospital, London's oldest hospital, can be seen in the background.