Old Fairgrounds and Circuses

[mh01 10]

u r right ther he was a good bloke was arthur i ust 2 come with jamie whiteing

yeah weve done a few gaffs with whitings over the years

[barton123 10]

yeah weve done a few gaffs with whitings over the years

did u no a lad called dougie

[mh01 10]

did u no a lad called dougie

not off hand mate, i never really left our machine, i use to say oreight to the other lads as we passed but other than that i stayed on our gear all the time

[denlin 12]

I spent many teenage years in the sixties at Norths fair in Ecclesfield which was at the side of the gennel opposite the school playing field. I think they are building on the land now. There was also a larger fair behind the Coach and Horses at Chapeltown. My parents used to take me to the farm grounds and I can recall a wall of death rider on a motorbike on top of a tall tower

[mh01 10]

I spent many teenage years in the sixties at Norths fair in Ecclesfield which was at the side of the gennel opposite the school playing field. I think they are building on the land now. There was also a larger fair behind the Coach and Horses at Chapeltown. My parents used to take me to the farm grounds and I can recall a wall of death rider on a motorbike on top of a tall tower

norths are still going strong albeit being run by the younger generations

[escort1 10]

The fair behind the Coach and Horse's was Marshall's. This site is now a permanent living and strorage area for the fairground folk.

[mh01 10]

The fair behind the Coach and Horse's was Marshall's. This site is now a permanent living and strorage area for the fairground folk.

micheal whiting & william percival are permanent residents there

[sycamore66j 10]

can you remember swallow who used to work for william percival? his ex mrs is on here

 

eyup MH, would that be andrew swallow who married tony marshalls sister, tony was in the same class as me in infant and junior school. and i used to see swallow regulaly when i worked for dick rowding at the breakers ( ecc ) on station road through the 80,s swallow used to have a yellow sherpa van which he towed behind a jcb.

[peterw 10]

I have not read all the replies to this thread so my apologies if the two following sites have already been mentioned. Before the war a large strip of land, on the left, looking down, as you walked up the LNER Station Approach had stood empty for many years. During the war, steel output intensified and the land was used to store ingots (I seem to recall those working in the steel rolling mills referred to them as billets?) approx.six feet long and four to six inches square. Morale was almost as important as steel production so each Christmas the land was cleared to make way for a Christmas fair.

 

There was a similar parcel of land by the side of the railway, on the left-hand side of Staniforth Road. The railway passed under a bridge across Staniforth Road, where twice a year before the war the land’s only purpose seemed to have been to herald the arrival of John Farrar’s Fair. For a while my father was a steam traction engine driver, and albeit this was before my fifth birthday, to follow the entire fair (the big rides went to their pitches first, and vice versa on leaving) it was quite something to follow its trail along Attercliffe Common then, aided by a traffic-duty constable, swing the locomotive, plus three purpose-built, all-wood living trailers and occasionally one small caravan almost to the opposite pavement before making the single arc that would clear all obstacles to arrive on the correct side of Staniforth Road.

 

I seem to recall it was achieved to rapturous applause from an appreciative audience who followed the first traction engine to its final destination, and did so for nothing more than to witness the mind-bending event all over again, with but one slight difference. On that second occasion, to a much larger crowd the driver, usually a Scot by the first name of Peter, was required to swing again to the opposite side of the road, then turn sharply to the left to pass, with only inches to spare, through the space left by an open five-barred gate!

 

Bear in mind that those were the days with no television and no local radio. The Sheffield Star always carried a picture of the event, but it was a ‘still’ and was no match for the real thing.

 

I have not mentioned that my father drove a traction engine for John Farrar during the early to mid-1930s. Later in life when he lived in a caravan the only ornament to grace its few shelves was a scale model of a similar class of traction engine. The only other thing worth a mention is that I was named Peter in remembrance of that show-stopping Scot whose well-polished steam locomotive shone like a new pin.

 

I could tell many stories about Peter, but on another day or another thread, perhaps. I am almost sure (although I know it is impossible) that Peter and his employer’s traction engine deserved each other. On the one hand he kept her looking good and standing out in a crowd. On the other hand, when he needed extra power, like a diesel engine she gave it to him …*again … and again … and again.

[mh01 10]

eyup MH, would that be andrew swallow who married tony marshalls sister, tony was in the same class as me in infant and junior school. and i used to see swallow regulaly when i worked for dick rowding at the breakers ( ecc ) on station road through the 80,s swallow used to have a yellow sherpa van which he towed behind a jcb.

eyup mate thats right, andy swallow, he worked for percivals (william)

[mh01 10]

I have not read all the replies to this thread so my apologies if the two following sites have already been mentioned. Before the war a large strip of land, on the left, looking down, as you walked up the LNER Station Approach had stood empty for many years. During the war, steel output intensified and the land was used to store ingots (I seem to recall those working in the steel rolling mills referred to them as billets?) approx.six feet long and four to six inches square. Morale was almost as important as steel production so each Christmas the land was cleared to make way for a Christmas fair.

 

There was a similar parcel of land by the side of the railway, on the left-hand side of Staniforth Road. The railway passed under a bridge across Staniforth Road, where twice a year before the war the land’s only purpose seemed to have been to herald the arrival of John Farrar’s Fair. For a while my father was a steam traction engine driver, and albeit this was before my fifth birthday, to follow the entire fair (the big rides went to their pitches first, and vice versa on leaving) it was quite something to follow its trail along Attercliffe Common then, aided by a traffic-duty constable, swing the locomotive, plus three purpose-built, all-wood living trailers and occasionally one small caravan almost to the opposite pavement before making the single arc that would clear all obstacles to arrive on the correct side of Staniforth Road.

 

I seem to recall it was achieved to rapturous applause from an appreciative audience who followed the first traction engine to its final destination, and did so for nothing more than to witness the mind-bending event all over again, with but one slight difference. On that second occasion, to a much larger crowd the driver, usually a Scot by the first name of Peter, was required to swing again to the opposite side of the road, then turn sharply to the left to pass, with only inches to spare, through the space left by an open five-barred gate!

 

Bear in mind that those were the days with no television and no local radio. The Sheffield Star always carried a picture of the event, but it was a ‘still’ and was no match for the real thing.

 

I have not mentioned that my father drove a traction engine for John Farrar during the early to mid-1930s. Later in life when he lived in a caravan the only ornament to grace its few shelves was a scale model of a similar class of traction engine. The only other thing worth a mention is that I was named Peter in remembrance of that show-stopping Scot whose well-polished steam locomotive shone like a new pin.

 

I could tell many stories about Peter, but on another day or another thread, perhaps. I am almost sure (although I know it is impossible) that Peter and his employer’s traction engine deserved each other. On the one hand he kept her looking good and standing out in a crowd. On the other hand, when he needed extra power, like a diesel engine she gave it to him …*again … and again … and again.

william percival bought john farrars machines when john retired. john farrar was also commended for his distinguished service by the showmans guild of great britain

[willybite 10]

Billy Smart's Circus came to Sheffield (Devonshire Green, I think) early November 1961.

 

i remember but it was chipperfields circus it was 1960. on devonshire ,broomhall, fitzwilliam, chester and eldon streets these would hire the locals to help put up the big top, they had a boxing booth at one time , one of the boxers was eric ludlam, another i knew his face but can't put a name to him.

Edited May 3, 2010 by willybite