what a fair that was acrobats tight rope walkers boxing tent were the public could pay to get your head knocked round all sorts of rides and booths me and my couson spent all our money six mile walk home spent our last bit of money to enter the boxing tent but it was not the boxing we went to see shall we say exotic dancer was not worth the walk but we had a good day out

Wasn't that known as the "Farm Gounds" fair?... end of July if I remember right, for 2 weeks. Oh yes, one of the years highlights for me.
My friend and me used to go on our half-day. We worked in a shop and it was half day closing in those days.
One year, with what we were wearing, some lads thought we were were "French birds" so.....we carried it on. Me speaking absolute gibberish and her speaking proper French cos she had been to Grammar School..
What a laugh. it was brilliant and I often wonder if they still have the fair there. Oh happy days or should that be happy daze.....:hihi:

Remember going and coming back with black feet. This was because the whole place was covered in a black dust ( wonder what it was?).

Ooohhhh Iwas beautiful with a tiny waist and was allowed to stay out till 9pm. My friend and I were the Queens of our castle. All the fairground workers were tall, dark, handsome and dangerous. Aaahhhh:love: Well that's how I remember it:hihi: :hihi: :hihi:

remember seein it but never went, yeah it was massive.

what a fair that was acrobats tight rope walkers boxing tent were the public could pay to get your head knocked round all sorts of rides and booths me and my couson spent all our money six mile walk home spent our last bit of money to enter the boxing tent but it was not the boxing we went to see shall we say exotic dancer was not worth the walk but we had a good day out

Wasnt it on the land where the Catholic School is now. I seem to remember A WALL OF DEATH (Motorbikes)?

You’re all too young for me! All I remember is the old fairground on Staniforth Road where I believe I was the youngest lad to ride on the newly arrived, first in the country, electric Moon Rocket. It was 1934 and I remember that while we were whizzing around one way, a larger than life Popeye was revolving the other! The fair was John Farrar’s, who did the Yorkshire circuit of fairs. The fairground was adjacent to the railway on the left-hand side going up towards Darnall.

C'mon Peter, I'm 63 and it was the most well known thing next to rag day, Farm Grounds was the name, it was the best and greatest fair anywhere at the time, like most I had to walk home because I had spent all my money.

I remember going to the farm grounds when they first opened it up for the fairs, etc. (1955 is my guess). Some old timers may also remember that at the time of one of the early fairs at the Farm Grounds, there was a terrible truck accident in the vacinity. My memory is not what it used to be but does anybody remember this? Correct me if I'm wrong but I think that this is what happened:

One day, at the time of an early Fair, a heavily ladened truck was coming down City Road. The driver was having brake problems and not being familiar with the city, he decided (it was summized) to turn off up a side street to stop his truck. He picked Granville Road, probably the worst choice he could have made.

On the very steep section at the top, the truck began to gather speed and the driver realized that he could not stop and there was nowhere to turn off. Granville road was also full of people going to and from the fair. The driver started blowing his horn to warn people. He manged to keep the truck under control until he hit the island at the bottom. The truck cleared the island, went part way up St Mary's road and crashed into a building at, or near, the Montgomery Tavern. I believe the poor driver lost his life.

As well as PeterW, I also remember (just) going to the the fair on Staniforth Road rec. That is before it became a truck depot for British Road Services. don't know what it is used for now.

I went to the Farm Grounds Fair for a few years and then got a temporary job there in 1958 . It was on a Bingo stall , called , " It's Little Jack 's " , from Middlesborough , I think . Very nice people and they had a son , about 17 , called Pete .
I worked there for a few weeks [ aged 16 ]and remember we always had about 3 suppers on the way home . We usually had a hot dog from the fair . then called at a a Somali restaurant on Matilda Street and if the chip shop on Fitwilliam Street was still open after that , we used to get chips from there !
Teenagers have good appetites !
Great place in Summer -----------always easy to drink under-age , always a few punch-ups , plenty of sex and the beginning of Rock 'N Roll !

Yes I can remember the runaway lorry, I think it was on the front of the "Star" at the time.
Fareast's recollections of the sex, booze and rock and roll.
:clap: YES YES YES:clap: to the rock and roll.The sex? it was just the chase that I remember and the booze... I wasn't interested.
But boy did we have fun.:headbang:

Falls & Skippy — The mention of City Road and Granville Road rings a bell. Was the entrance on the right going up Granville Road, and was there a gradual slope towards a flat piece of land at the bottom? If so, I think I went to the first fair held there, which was a hot summer’s day during the war. I can’t remember the year. In fact it may have been during the first five years after the war. I know that if that was the place, I only went once and there wasn’t a great deal in the way of a fair. I DO remember the hot day though!

Peterw, yes the entrance was on the right going up Granville Rd, wouldn't know how to get there these days though.
It's times like this, looking back that I wish I had known what I know today,
Joanl, if I remember, you didn't run too fast in the chase, Ha Ha, just kidding.

Thanks Skippy — Yes, I was at the first, and thinking back it was advertised as a Grand Gala Day. Just one day!

The fairs were held after the war. The farm grounds were used aa a balloon barrage site during the war. There used to be a lake in the grounds and some great Rhododendron bushes. There was an entrance on Norfolk Park road near the park gates.

peterw I could be wrong but I think the funfair was on what we called the brickfield on Shirland Lane,but I could be wrong as my memory isn't as good as it used to be.

I remember going to the farm grounds when I was a kid,I remember there always used to be a man doing a high dive, where he would climb a hundred or so foot tower set fire to himself and dive off into a pool of water about 8ft accross and about 5ft deep.The attandants would drag him out ,and after a few minutes he would stagger to his feet waving to the crowd .....and then get ready for the evening performance:loopy: Must have been an easier way to earn a living:huh:

I remember my gramdmother helping out on one of the stalls there. I think it was a model railway tent, anyway there was a fire in there I was terrified. I was only about 4 years old. I have always been afraid of fairs since.

I believe the fair ceased to happen cica 55/56 because the land was used for open cast mining. myself and a few other lads from Edmund rd would take the old prams up Farm rd, get into the land via gaps in the big brick wall,fill the prams with the coal (and there were some pretty big lumps) and then run like hell back down towards Queens rd and home. Did it a few times then they fenced it all off.
I remember the fair and the fishing pool, there was also a stage with various acts,it was in a dip, we sat on the grass and looked down on it,and it always seemed hot and sunny, I think when the coal ran out they used the land for building. Northen strip mining was the name of the company.

Northern Strip mining was further up on East Bank Road. Granville College was built on the site.

I didn't leave school until 1957 and it was from then that I went to the Farm Grounds fair.:)

I was not born until 1953, so a little younger than some of you here, but I certainly have distant memories of the fair on Granville Road.. so unless my memory takes me back to when I was only 2/3 it may have gone on a little longer than 55/56.

Mmmm! does'nt pay to get the dates wrong with you guys, but yes you could be right, it could have been a little later. (long time ago). Anyway" does Norfolk Park still exsist? seem to recall they had a really nice bowling green.

I remember going to the farm grounds when I was a kid,I remember there always used to be a man doing a high dive, where he would climb a hundred or so foot tower set fire to himself and dive off into a pool of water about 8ft accross and about 5ft deep.The attandants would drag him out ,and after a few minutes he would stagger to his feet waving to the crowd .....and then get ready for the evening performance:loopy: Must have been an easier way to earn a living:huh:

YeeHaa
Yep i was bout 6years old and i remember the diver.

what a fair that was acrobats tight rope walkers boxing tent were the public could pay to get your head knocked round all sorts of rides and booths me and my couson spent all our money six mile walk home spent our last bit of money to enter the boxing tent but it was not the boxing we went to see shall we say exotic dancer was not worth the walk but we had a good day out


Worked for the YEB early 50's wiring up all the marquees, tents and stalls etc.. Met my wife there in '54/55.
It was a big show, I think it carried on for a few more years, then I think it was moved to Endcliffe Park

I used to go to the Farm Grounds in the 40s at whitsuntide, but can't remember the fair being there then, we used to walk there from the catholic schools.
I remember the rhododendron bushes round the lake. and the pain of my new whitsunday shoes as we ran round and round the bushes.

hazel

hazel there use to be catholic school on Edmund road at the time, is that the school you mean?
If so my sister use to go their in the same period.

why dont you try the nfa website http://www.shef.ac.uk/nfa/ contact vannesa toumain

Wasn't it Ling's Feast that was at the Farm Grounds in August? As soon as they had finished there, they went to Ecclesfield in Johnson Lane. It was brilliant, I can still see those steam yachts and hear the screams of the girls in them. Where did it all go to?

hazel there use to be catholic school on Edmund road at the time, is that the school you mean?
If so my sister use to go their in the same period.

I have just found this post Pippa, No, I think the shool on Edmound Rd was at that time St Maries.
Hazel

Nigel W.

I think the fair at Norfolk Park used to be, normally, the last week in July and the first week in August. However, for reasons unknown [to me] they sometimes stayed on an extra week.

I worked there for about 3 weeks as a teenager in 1958 and remember the terrific atmosphere that many people have referred to on this thread.I was a real fairground addict in those days and couldn't keep away from them.

Attached to the fair was a sort of Sheffield Show, which, I think, mainly operated in the afternoons and early evenings.[ I remember the High Diver, well ! ] The fairground went on until about 10 p.m.-10.30 p.m

I would guess that a lot of stuff we used to enjoy at fairgrounds and which added a bit of spice to life [ the boxing, the striptease, the strange exhibitions ] have disappeared under the dead hand of the Health & Safety Exec. Plus, I guess so many people like to sit watching " t' telly " that fairgrounds are a bit of a risk, these days, financially

Nigel W.

I think the fair at Norfolk Park used to be, normally, the last week in July and the first week in August. However, for reasons unknown [to me] they sometimes stayed on an extra week.

I worked there for about 3 weeks as a teenager in 1958 and remember the terrific atmosphere that many people have referred to on this thread.I was a real fairground addict in those days and couldn't keep away from them.

Attached to the fair was a sort of Sheffield Show, which, I think, mainly operated in the afternoons and early evenings.[ I remember the High Diver, well ! ] The fairground went on until about 10 p.m.-10.30 p.m

I would guess that a lot of stuff we used to enjoy at fairgrounds and which added a bit of spice to life [ the boxing, the striptease, the strange exhibitions ] have disappeared under the dead hand of the Health & Safety Exec. Plus, I guess so many people like to sit watching " t' telly " that fairgrounds are a bit of a risk, these days, financially

Thanks for that Fareast. You are right, the atmosphere was brilliant. They would have finished coming to Johnson Lane, Ecclesfield, in the mid fifties, as Barworth Steels had been built on the site. However, they came again when the Farm Grounds had been built on. This would be around 1963/64. This time they came to Mill Road and stayed three weeks. I remember a man who had a Bingo stall - his first name was Joby - his surname could have been Cantrell but I can't swear to it. I saw him years later, still on the Bingo stall, but at Skipsea near Bridlington. I also remember Mrs Ling. They were nice people. A fantastic British institution, now fast disappearing.

yes lot of fairgrounds in sheffield were lost to development my grandad always talks about the fair at grimesthorpe

As a teen in the 60s I recall going to Sheffield Gala on Granville Road.
Didn`t they have fireworks display Sat night....

Can you remember the fair that was beside the Victoria station approach?

No but I do recall there was one besides Midland Station.
I remember I was very cold so not sure what time of year it was.

I remember it being called the Sheffield Gala. Mom and Dad would take us in the late 50's or early 60's. I recall a steep bank to one side where we'd sit and eat our picnic. One of the sideshows was an escapologist called Alan Alan (http://www.britishpathe.com/video/burning-rope-escapologist). He'd be hoisted by rope on a crane, upside down in a straight jacket. The rope was set alight. Of course he would always make it safely back to terra firma. I was always under the impression that the Gala was the precursor to the Sheffield Show.

http://www.nfa.dept.shef.ac.uk/ go on there and look for sheffield

|The fair at the Farm Grounds used to be on (I think the last week in July and the First week in August) these were the works holiday weeks. In the summer of 1955 I got a job there working with Adsetts who used to have the ice-cream and food stalls there. I was 14 at the time,it is also where I met my husband,he was also working there, having just left school and not yet started his new job. Four years later we were married and living in Dorset, now we live in Australia.