Friends of the Fairground Heritage Trust

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It is anticipated that there will be an official launch and turf cutting ceremony on the Sat-urday as part of the annual Fairground Week-end at Dingles Steam Village. Construction work should start soon after the museum closes for the end of the season. We would urge everyone who can to attend the Fairground Weekend this year — your support is vital. This year’s event will take place over the weekend of 24/25 September, from 10.30 each day. Further details overleaf. We can still accommodate some further visiting exhibits and trade stands for the weekend. Anyone wishing to attend can con-tact the Dingles hotline on 01566 783425 or Michael Smith on 07770 852971 or by e-mail, fairart@btopenworld.com.

The Rodeo Switchback, the jewel in the crown of the Trust’s collection, will become one of the main exhibits in the new

Fairground Museum building.

P lans for a new Fairground Museum on the Dingles Steam Village site in West Devon took a major step forward this week with the receipt of a formal offer of funding for the 25,000 square feet building from DEFRA’s Rural Enterprise

Scheme. The Trustees wish to thank all those who helped in any way, especially all the many responses we had to the ap-peal for assistance with the marketing review prepared by Crisp Associates. That report will now also provide invaluable in our bid for support from the Heritage Lottery Fund. To qualify for the funding, the building must be completed by May 2006, although the Trust envisages it will take a minimum period of a further 12 months to prepare the empty building for use by visitors, and to undertake essential con-servation work on those items from its extensive collection that will form the nucleus of the new interactive displays.

TRUST LAUNCHES URGENT APPEAL:

£100,000 NEEDED NOW! The news about the new building is undoubtedly a very major step forward for the Trust, but this is only the start of the new museum project. The project can only be fulfilled if we can raise a substantial sum of money from other sources – donations and potential sponsorship being key areas – in addition to any external funding such as the Heritage Lottery Fund. In order to provide working capital for the reopening of the museum next season, and to pay ongoing expenses, including legal and accountancy fees, plus match funding for any Heritage Lottery Fund awards and other grants, we need to raise around £100,000 immediately. This will rise to around half a million (£500,000) over the next 2-3 of years if further applications for external funding have to be matched, and we have to finance things which cannot be grant aided. All donations, large or small, will be most welcome, and we would urge you to complete a Gift Aid form to accompany any donation you may feel able to make, as this enables us to recover an additional 28p for every £1 donated – quite a substantial extra contribution! The Trust will shortly announce details of a new scheme for sponsorship opportunities within the new museum building. These will include sponsorship of individual rides and artefacts, the new building itself, and a Hall of Fame.

HERITAGE LOTTERY FUND The application for a Project Planning Grant (PPG) from the Heritage Lottery Fund is now largely complete, and will be submitted in late August or early September. The maximum grant available under a PPG is £50,000, and the Trust will have to contribute a minimum of 10% to the total cost of the project (so a minimum of around £5,600). The main purpose of the PPG is to put together an application for a much larger Heritage Grant, which includes addressing such areas as conservation requirements, audience development, access and learning, and training. The Heritage Grant will be essential to

conserve and restore much of the Trust’s collection, and transform an empty shell of a new building into a fully operational Fairground Museum, with rides, interactive displays, interpretation, and so on.

THE GAZELEY COLLECTION The so-called Gazeley collection has formed a major sub-component of the Trust’s collections for a number of years. It was originally built up in the mid-1990s using funds provided by Gazeley Properties: a development company and potential partner of the Trust. It includes a number of rides, such as the ex-Brett Ghost Train, the Cakewalk, and several key artefacts such as the Billy Wood Boxing Show and the Kimbers’ (Manders’) Menagerie Arch. Sadly, when the Trust was experiencing financial difficulties, the collection had to be used as collateral to obtain funds to keep the Trust solvent. When the Trust moved to Dingles, Richard Sandercock bought back the Gazeley Collection to keep the overall collection intact, with the items concerned being put on loan to the Trust. The Trustees feel it is now time that the Gazeley Collection should be reinstated into the full ownership of the Trust, one of the key considerations for this being that the Heritage Lottery Fund will only fund conservation work on items owned by the Trust, and not for items forming part of the loan collection. The total amount concerned is around £90,000, although this can be broken down into smaller amounts for each of

the individual items. If you would like to make a donation for this purpose, please contact one of the Trustees. Alternatively, if you would like to purchase a specific item, this can be done in one of two ways: the item can be bought outright, and loaned to the Trust, provided you would be willing to bear the costs of any necessary conservation work, or you can purchase the item and donate it to the Trust, enabling HLF funding to be sought to cover any conservation costs.

FRAN CLARKE AND POPEYE In the last couple of FH News we have covered the Popeye restoration project undertaken by Fran Clarke as part of her BA course in Conservation and Restoration at Lincoln University. We are pleased to announce that Fran gained her degree with First Class Honours, and send her our congratulations. It is hoped that the restored Popeye will be on display at the forthcoming Fairground Weekend at Dingles.

NEW FLYER Unfortunately, due to other pressures, our new flyer is still in preparation, and may not be available for a few weeks. It will be important that these are widely distributed to increase the profile of the Trust and its key objectives. If you can circulate any (via fairs, rallies and other events, or clubs/societies), or have any other ideas for distribution, please contact Stephen Smith.

Another ride from the Trust’s extensive collection is the ex-Edwards’ Orton & Spooner “Super Chariot Racer” Ark.

FHT WEBSITE Since its launch in June, the new website www.fairground-heritage.org.uk has been attracting large numbers of visitors. This has been greatly helped by the number of other sites adding links to our site, especially the 24 hour museum (www.24hourmuseum.org.uk) who very generously made us their website of the week at the end of July. All of this has also been beneficial in increasing our search engine rating — bringing a greater awareness of our activities.

OBITUARIES

THE LATE RICHARD DARBY Richard will be well remembered by a great many showmen and enthusiasts as an independent showman, enthusiast and electrical tester. It was a great shock to hear of his untimely death in June. His funeral saw a massive turnout at the small church in Flackwell Heath. Our deepest sympathies to Kim, Terry, Joyce and Sally. Thanks to the generosity of Richard’s family, a number of items from his collection have recently been moved to Dingles where they will be displayed in his memory. THE LATE ROGER AUSTIN It is with great sadness that we report the death of Roger Austin on 30 July. Roger was an avid collector of Scammell vehicles and all things fairground, as well as being a staunch supporter of the Trust. Without his help, the Trust could never have survived the difficulties of the past few years. Many will remember his generosity in opening up his collection for fellow enthusiasts. His funeral took place on Thursday 11 August, and was attended by a large number of mourners, including many prominent showmen and enthusiasts. Our condolences to his family on the occasion of their great loss. THE LATE HENRY LEWIS Henry was actively involved in much of the initial restoration work of some of the Trust’s artefacts, especially the former Edwards’ Gallopers whilst at Wroughton. He was a skilled engineer, whose work was always to the highest standards. Sadly, Henry passed away on 28 July, aged 83. His funeral was held on 4 August. Our condolences to his family.

Pictured at last year’s Fairground Weekend, Mick Goulding’s Gallopers have attended regularly for some years, and will again be one of the major

attractions this year.

DINGLES FAIRGROUND WEEKEND 2005

On 24/25 September Dingles Steam Village will again be staging their Annual Fair-ground Weekend. This event has grown over the years, and attracts enthusiast from all over the country, as well as many locals. This year is particularly important, since the announcement of the funding for the new Fairground Museum building, and it is hoped to have a turf cutting ceremony on the Saturday.

of York” and his rare Watsons of Belper living wagon, ex-Ashleys. This year sees a further increase in the number of both models and trade stands expected. Modellers will include Arthur Dyke, Terry Norman, Bill Lane, Tim O’Connor, David & Karen Percival, Simon Reed, Carl Barlow, Paul Needham, Gerard Pole and Jim Green-wood, with several more to be con-firmed. Trade stands will include Aubrey Tummon Video, Dave Homer Video, Fairtrack Ventures (Peter Hammond), Skelter Publishing, Guy Belshaw, Mar-tin Burridge, Brian Steptoe and Joyland Books. Sunday only will see the return of the Tewkesbury Fair Society, with their dis-play of models and photographs.

PAINTING DEMONSTRATION Trustee and showman David Wallis will be giving a demonstration of fairground marbling techniques on the Saturday. David was taught this specialist fair-ground artform by master decorator Fred Fowle, and is keen to pass on his skills to others. If you would particularly like to participate in this, please contact Mi-chael Smith, and remember to bring your overalls if you would like a go!

In addition to the usual exhibits within the museum, the Trust has for the past few years tried to show one or two extra items not normally on view. This year will be no exception, although you will have to wait until the day to find out what this year’s surprises will be! Mick Goulding has been a great sup-porter of the Dingles Fairground Week-ends, and we are pleased to announce that he will again present his Walker-built Gallopers for the enjoyment of those present. Engines in steam will include Clive and Marion Gibbard’s Burrell “Rajah” (ex-Bostock & Wombwell’s Menagerie) and John Dyke’s Burrell “Star” (ex-Pettigroves). Also on show for the transport enthusiasts will be the A&R Showtracs and other vintage trans-port, and Charles Heal’s Scammell Chaindrive “Rocket”. Other larger exhibits will include items from the collections of Robbie Richards and Phil Vanstone, which will include some classic fairground trans-port. Steve Shea will once again present his Scammell tractor “Demetrius”, and Mike Stabb will be entertaining with his Dean organ. John Atkinson may be pre-sent with his ex-Paynes/A&R/Heals Burrell Showman’s engine “White Rose

Produced by the

Friends of the Trust For further information contact:

Stephen Smith 38 Stratford Avenue

May Bank Newcastle under Lyme

ST5 0JS

THE TRUST OUT & ABOUT

You can see the Trust’s photo display, and meet representatives, at the Great Dorset Steam Fair, from 30 August — 4 September. We will again be sharing the World’s Fair marquee — many thanks to the management of the WF for their gen-erosity in providing this facility. Also in attendance will be WF scribes Peter Hammond, Guy Belshaw, Ernie Taylor and Roger Mills. We will also be attending the Long Eaton Model Show, in the Town Hall, on Saturday 19 November.

TRUSTEES Richard Sandercock (Dingles Steam Village, 01566 783425) – Chairman; Michael Smith (07770 852971) – Secretary; Sir William McAlpine; Stephen Smith (07879 415822) – Educational Consultant and Friends Administrator; Richard Ward – Founding Trustee; David Wallis (Honorary Life Member of the Showmen’s Guild, 07836 291215) – Showmen’s representative; Simon DeVey (Member of the Showmen’s Guild, 07770 725726) – Showmen’s representative; Steph Gillett MSocSc (Independent Museums Consultant) – Honorary Curatorial Advisor, reporting to the Trustees

EVERYBODYS FAVORITE!

Thanks to the generosity of author Roger Mills, the Trust has a limited number of copies of his excellent history of R Ed-wards & Sons Ltd. for sale. These are priced at £7.50 per copy, available at the Fairground Weekend, or Long Eaton Model Show if stocks last. You can also order by post from Mi-chael Smith, 6 Winswell Water, Peters-marland, Torrington, Devon, EX38 8QB, adding 60p towards P&P. Please make cheques and postal orders payable to the FHT.

TRUSTEES AND VOLUNTEERS As noted in the last issue of Fairground Heritage News, there is still a major gap in the Trust’s management for a fund-raiser. With the excellent news about the progress on the new Museum Building. the Trust will need to raise increasing amounts of money to support its activi-ties, and eventually also for provide match funding for grants from other bod-ies including HLF. If you feel you may be able to help, please contact any of the Trustees. We are also still seeking to appoint an honorary treasurer. For many years the Trust’s financial requirements have been looked to a very high standard by Merid-ian Computer Services of Liverpool, but this has become very costly, and we be-lieve the time has come to move on. The successful candidate will need to have experience of accounting practices for a small company, and be able to deal with tasks such as banking and account recon-ciliation, supplier payments, VAT re-turns, Gift Aid and so on. If you think you may be able to help, please contact Michael Smith in the first instance. It is also hoped to establish some vol-unteer working groups at Dingles in the near future. The main requirements at present are for housekeeping-related ac-tivities, although it should be possible to start some basic conservation and resto-ration work soon, subject to suitable skills (carpentry, engineering, painting, etc) being available. If you think you can assist in any way, please contact Michael Smith. Many thanks to those who have already responded to the appeal for volunteers — we will be in touch shortly to make suit-able arrangements.

Another exhibit at last year’s Fairground Weekend was this immaculate ex-Whitelegg ERF from the collection of Phil Vanstone. Phil will again this year be bringing some

classic fairground vehicles from his collection.