Fairs In most towns across the country, fairs and traditional holidays remained important parts of the yearly calendar. Wakes were traditional fairs linked to local saints’ or feast days, while other fairs accompanied markets and civic celebrations. Many fairs lasted for a week or more, and were attended by thousands of people, who hurried to attend them from across the surrounding area.

One of the most popular fairs was Bartholomew’s, which William Wordsworth described as a “Parliament of Monsters” filled with “albinos, painted Indians, dwarfs, the horse of knowledge, the invisible girl, puppet shows, as well as musicians playing the hurdy-gurdy, the fiddle, the kettledrum, and the trumpet”.

Entertainment and leisure in Britain The 1700s The population of Britain grew rapidly during the Georgian period, from around five million people in 1700 to nearly nine million by 1801. It was a time of extreme luxury and extreme poverty, of burgeoning consumer culture and the birth of industrialisation; of spectacular entertainments from exhibitions of giants and exotic animals to public hangings – a host of entertainments for those seeking relief from their everyday routines.

Above: Bartholomew’s Fair 1721

Right: Entertainment poster 1787

Until 1708, the May Fair in London lasted fourteen days and was the largest in England, said to be overrun by prostitution and crime. Yet everyone within ten miles comes to the Bartholomew Fair, regardless of social class, although the upper class and royalty frequent the fair less.

By the mid 1700s, ‘Fair Delicacies” were often notorious concoctions, claiming to be plum-porridge, black-puddings, and op’ning of oysters, fine sausages, wine, beer and ale. Children enjoyed raisins, sugarplums, figs, and puddings.

Other entertainment Animal baiting and organised blood sports remained extremely popular during the eighteenth century. Bull baiting was one such example, in which an animal was tied to a stake as dogs were sent in to attack, while a cheering and expectant crowd watched from the sidelines. Badgers and bears were also occasionally used in this manner.

Scientific spectacles also attracted widespread public interest. In 1784 the first manned hot air balloon flight was made in England by an Italian aviator, Vincenzo Lunardi, whose appearance over the rooftops of London caused an outright sensation.

Above: Hogarth’s The Cockpit, 1759

Below: Hot Air Balloon display, 1784

Pleasure gardens Eighteenth century England witnessed a period of unprecedented prosper-ity for some, primarily the result of a flourishing international trade with a growing number of colonies.

Successful merchants and traders found that they had the time and money to visit opera houses, music clubs and the new ‘pleasure gardens’, where orchestras played, fountains splashed, unaccompanied ladies could walk, colored lights covered the walkways, and sometimes firework displays were held.

The Gardens showcased the finest musicians and artists of the day, hosting Mozart’s English debut, and exhibited fine art in a public setting for first time. Providing literary inspiration for Pepys, Thackeray, Austen and Dickens, they were also the subject of poetry, painting, and became the living epitome of the Romantic Movement.

Tea gardens The popular pleasure gardens of Ranelagh and Vauxhall in London began serving tea around 1730. An evening of dancing and watching fireworks would be capped by tea. The concept caught on, and soon Tea Gar-dens opened all over Britain

Pleasure Garden, 1742

Usually the gardens were opened on Saturday and Sunday, and an afternoon of entertainment and dancing would be highlighted by serving tea.

By 1750 tea had become the favoured drink of Britain’s lower classes.

St Helena Tavern and Tea Gardens

Music halls Music halls can be traced back to the taverns of the 18th century where men met to eat, drink and do business. Performers sang whilst the audience ate, drank and joined in the singing. By the 1830s taverns had rooms devoted to musical clubs.

These would have been noisy and difficult places in which to perform. The audiences could be unruly, often throwing things at the performers .

Purpose built music halls The Canterbury Hall, in Lambeth, London opened in 1852, holding 700 people, with star acts like the famous Sam Cowell. So great was it’s success, a larger, more ornate hall, complete with chandeliers and balcony, opened on the same site in 1856. It held 1500 people.

Inspired by the success of the Canterbury, many more music halls opened, which meant a lot more performers were required.

Variety theatres By the early 1900s, new purpose-built “Empires, Palaces and Hippodromes” theatres sprang up.

These, were beautiful Edwardian theatres with chandeliers, gold leaf, proscenium arches with plush velvet fixed seats and a separate bar and auditorium.

The old spirit of Music Hall gradually faded away.

The 1800s19th century Britain was one of huge industrial and technological change, sensational crimes, spectacular entertainments for the masses, and grand attempts to combat squalor and disease. The Victorians liked to have their social classes clearly defined. The working class was divided into three layers, the lowest being ‘working men’ or labourers, then the ‘intelligent artisan’, and above him the ‘educated working man’.

Above: 1862 Music Hall

Left: The Empire Theater, Leicester Square, London

opened 1884 (photographed 1905)

Fairs and shows By the early 1800s the dominance of showmen’s entertainment in the fair grounds was reflected in the growth of their size. Theatrical booths, waxworks, freak shows and of course the wild beast shows known as menageries, which by the middle of the century assumed a primacy over their rival shows on the fair. An account in 1822 of Bartholomew Fair lists five circus booths, four menageries, a number of theatres, peep shows, freak shows, glass blowing acts and a number of exhibition shows. The gullible public flocked to see these exhibitions.

During the mid 1800s, many of the Horticultural and Agricultural Shows we know today were founded. These were typically a showcase for local growers of horticultural produce and flowers, which was a useful source of food and a hobby for many workers. The inclusion of agriculture and livestock widened interest.

Popularity of these showgounds increased tremendously by the time of the Silver Jubilee in 1874, drawing a larger and larger crowd. It was at this point in time that other interests were introduced, such as horse jumping – the start of changes which would lead to today’s broader popular appeal.

By the 1899 Golden Jubilee, horticul-tural and agricultural society shows became well recognised. The introduc-tion of side shows and entertainment steadily increased visitor numbers.

1805 self propelled roundabout

20th century society At the beginning of the 20th century 25% of the population were living in poverty and at least 15% were living at subsistence level.

The government elected in 1906 made some reforms. Poor children were given free school meals, in 1909 the first old age pensions were paid and the government formed wages councils. In 1911 the government passed an act establishing sickness benefits for workers, which also provided unemployment benefit for workers in certain trades. This was extended to most workers in 1920, although agricultural workers did not receive unemployment benefit until 1936.

Meanwhile the rights and status of women greatly improved. In 1918 women over 30 were given the vote. In 1928 they were allowed to vote at the age of 21 (the same as men).

Things greatly improved after the First World War. A survey in 1924 showed that 4% of the population were living in extreme poverty.

The 1900sYet again there were two sides to the 20th century. On the one hand there were severe recessions and two terrible world wars. On the other hand there was a vast improvement in the standard of living of ordinary people. Life expectancy rose. In 1900 it was about 47 for a man and 50 for a woman. By the end of the century it was about 75 and 80. Life was also greatly improved by new inventions...

...and in this era the Daubney Entertainment Agency was born.

Above: Miners, 1920

Left: Votes for women

20th century pastimes In 1900 the average working week was 54 hours. Furthermore, most people had no paid holidays except bank holidays. Regardless of their long working hours, people had some leisure time - shops closed on Sundays (and Wednesday or Thursday after-noons) and most entertainment established observed the Sabbath.

In 1939 a new law said that everyone must have one weeks annual paid holiday. By the 1950s two weeks were common and by the 1980s most people had at least 4 weeks annual holiday, working an average 39 hour week.

King Edward VII (reigned 1901-1910) popularised horse racing and sporting events, although these were mainly for the wealthy.

In the early 20th century, listening to a gramophone at home was becom-ing popular (radio broadcasting did not began until 1922 when the BBC was formed). In 1900 Frank Hornby invented a toy called Meccano. The first crossword was devised in 1913 by Arthur Wynne. Family parlour games and board games were played – Monopoly was introduced in 1934, followed by Scrabble in 1948 and Cluedo in 1949. People had less expectations of course, and were thrilled by the spectacles of exhibi-tions, fun fairs, special events and entertainment.

The first Le Mans 24 hour race was held in 1923. The famous basketball team the Harlem Globetrotters was founded in 1927. Early ‘silent movies’ were often shown in theatres, but an increasing number of purpose built cinemas appeared. The first ‘talkie’, The Jazz Singer, was made in 1927. Most people went to ‘the pictures’ at least once and sometimes twice a week during the 1930s great age of cinema.

Photos – clockwise from top:

•Edward VII with his racehorse. •Frank Hornby and his 1901 patent. Holiday poster. •1949s movie placard.

•The Jazz Singer poster. •1920s Decca portable gramophone.

Fairs and shows of the 1900s The hayday of fairground shows was in the first fifty years of the nineteenth century, with menageries, circuses, ghost shows, waxworks, peep shows, illusion booths and exhibitions of freaks – all dominating the show-ground landscape until the introduc-tion of steam powered roundabouts.

The showmen employed ingenuity and style, and the gullible public flocked to see them. However, the fairground shows developed many forms, with boxing, parading booths and the modern fun houses and ghost trains, all linked to their 19th century counterparts.

After the demise of the bioscope show the old fairground booths such as the waxworks continued until the larger shows ceased travelling in the inter war years. However, the fairground show did not disappear: it made a comeback with wild west shows, dancing girls and novelty shows. These had trick shooting, dancing girls and comedians on the front to draw the crowd into a theatrical type variety show.

The liberalisation of the censorship laws in the 1960s sounded the death knell for the mildly titillating glamour shows. The fairground show with its emphasis on illusion and trickery, relying heavily on the naivety of its audience, could not keep up with more sophisticated tastes.

The final decades of the 20th century have witnessed a renaissance of the fairground shows with the emergence of the trailer mounted shows – constructed around a trailer upon which the show folds out. Fairgrounds shows became more lavish and larger, such as the triple decker shows.

Nottingham Goose Fair, 1908

Bioscope Show, 1910

Wrestler, 1910

Bostock & Wombwell’s Menagerie advertisement, early 1900’s