A Knowle West woman who visits Priddy Sheep Fair every year has just discovered that a branch of her family come from the village.

Tracey Pool, of Novers Park Road, is a big fan of the ancient sheep and horse market in the Mendip Hills.

She said: "I love the fair and have been drawn to it for 32 years, but I never expected to find a connection.

"I discovered it through a project linked to the Tree of Life project at our local church which includes tracing ancestors.

"We have another link with Priddy through a project called Grass Roots which works with the Urban Horse and Pony Club in Knowle West. My husband, Barry has been buying in horses and foals here at the fair. It is lovely to think the fair is in my blood."

Mrs Pool was demonstrating felt- making in her traditional barrel-top Romany caravan. She uses high quality merino wool, which must be mixed with an alkaline substance – she uses soap – massaged into the wool by hand and then trodden under foot so the fibres blend together to produce a dense mat.

It would have been a traditional product of the Mendip Hills in medieval times.

According to tradition, Priddy Sheep Fair moved to the village from Wells in 1348 because the Black Death was ravaging the city.

A stack of hurdles, once used for sheep pens, is a famous feature of the village green and there is a local legend, which says that as long as the hurdle stack remains in the village, so will the fair.

Until recently horse-traders used to run their animals up and down the village street to show them off to potential buyers, but the practice has since been stopped on health and safety grounds.