All the Fun of the Fair - 707 Years On

Hull was originally granted a charter for a fair to be held, back in 1278, But in 1293 Edward I allocated six weeks through May and June for official festivities to be held, and Hull Fair was born.

In the sixteenth century, it moved to 16 days in September, but in 1751 (The year the calendar changed from the Julian to Gregorian standard,) it was moved to 'the nearest weekend to 11th October'.

For years it ran for seven days from Saturday to Saturday (being closed on Sunday) but in recent years, the opening day was moved to Friday, so it now provides eight days of festivities every year.

For a long time, there have been claims that Hull Fair is the largest travelling fair in Europe. The validity of these claims depend on what factors are used to measure its size: Area, number of attractions, number of visitors, revenue generated, etc. It's difficult to be certain how it compares in some of these aspects, but whatever you choose to measure it by, it is by far, the largest travelling fair in the UK.

Hull Fair has been located at various sites, but since 1888 has been at it's present home in Walton Street. The majority of the attractions stand on  a 16 acre fairground adjacent to Walton Street (which is used as a market site and car park for the rest of the year,) but some rides and stalls are set-up on the street itself.

These days, things are mostly high-tech; gone are the bearded lady and flea circus stalls, but the gypsy fortune tellers' caravans are still in abundance, intermittently popping up along the length of Walton Street, each one of them claiming to be the only genuine daughter of 'Gypsy Rose Lee' (who I thought, was an American burlesque stripper from the 1930s, but what do I know?)

The rides themselves seem to get scarier and more intense every year. The old swing chairs ride for the kiddies is gone now, replaced by an adult equivalent that lifts people fifty feet into the air first.

Of course, the interests of smaller children haven't been forgotten, and many of the old 'kiddy rides' are still around, pretty much as I remember them from my own childhood, as are the darts and hoopla stalls and the ever present 'hook-a-duck'.

Some changes are noticeable though: modern thinking has put paid to the opportunity to win a live goldfish; coconut shies seem to be absent these days (though I suspect there'll still be one hiding amongst the stalls if you look for it;) Some of the old 'six shots for a shilling' shooting galleries seem to have been replaced by '200 shots for £2' with automatic repeating weapons. (watching these, it seems like your £2 lasts about fifteen seconds!)

I remember as a child in the sixties, mum and dad would take my sister and I to the fair two or three times during the week it was here.

My sister would always come home with something like a fairy doll (really just a cheap barbie clone regaled in a colourful net dress, and for some reason, dangling by string from a stick.) I'd get a plastic sword or a bow and arrow set, (arrows with red rubber suckers on the end, the bow always seemed to be clad around the middle with leopard effect fur fabric.) There were always balloons to be had, lots of food consumed and a bag of brandy snap for mum to bring home. We always seemed to go on as many rides as we wanted to, but dad always insisted that in those days he never spent much more than five pounds on each visit. (rides in those days being sixpence, old money, I have no doubt he was being truthful.)

The toy sellers are always there to tempt the visiting children to spend mum and dad's money. There seems to be a new trend each year: this year it was light-up magic wands, light-sabres, and bubble-blowing water guns.

As a child I always remember there'd be two or three chaps dressed as Santa Claus, positioned at various points down Walton Street. Parents would pay for him to provide their child with a present from his sack. They're not there anymore, because the council regulations force all the street traders to wear official, numbered, high-visibility vests, and whoever heard of a flourescent orange Santa?

The balloon sellers are still present, standing on quieter areas of the street, in what would be darker places if it weren't for the mass of technicolour inflatables they're always grasping. It often makes you wonder why they're not lifted off the ground by the effects of all that helium!

However many balloons he sells, his stock never seems to diminish. Nobody ever seems to replenish his stock, and surely, with that handful, he doesn't have the opportunity to inflate more himself?

The fairy dolls are still there if you look for them, as are the plastic swords, but the bows & arrows seem to have been replaced by 'working' light sabres. The balloons these days are in much more exciting shapes, but the brandy snap is still available, and in the same white, red and blue 'Wrights' bags that I remember from my childhood.

The traditional food stalls never seem to change: standard fayre apart from brandy snap being nougat, fudge & coconut ice to take home. Candy floss, popcorn, toffee apples, coconuts & pomegranates are still favourites. There's always something new in the way of confectionery: giant muffins, with belgian chocolate topping and real chocolates stood out this year, (probably because I'm not allowed to eat them!)

People still queue for the traditional burgers, hot dogs, chestnuts, chips and doughnuts, but these days you can also choose kebabs, noodles, wraps, etc.

The crowds seem to get bigger each year. The walk down Walton Street is more like shuffling along at the busiest times, and when someone decides to stop without warning, the effect is for everyone following behind to shudder to a halt suddenly. It doesn't help the congestion when people insist on bringing their children in full size prams, instead of small buggies, and a mobility scooter travelling through the crowds creates a real traffic hazard, (those bloody things don't slow down for anyone!)

My kids are too old to go the fair with their parents now. They usually go with friends if their finances allow, but I occasionally just take a wander around these days. The only money I usually spend there, is to buy brandy snap, nougat, etc. to take home.

But it's the sounds, the sights and the smells that trigger memories for me.

Even now, there are songs from the seventies, that I still think of as 'Hull Fair music' because at the time of their release, they were played repeatedly on the rides at the fair, back in my teenage days when I'd visit the fair with friends as often as I could.

The lights are blinding at times, and the strobe effects on some of the rides can be annoying, even as you just walk past, but seeing the faces of children at the sight of all the colours and bright lights is a joy. 

There's a certain atmosphere at the fair, and the various smells there play a big part in that. There's nothing quite like the smell of hot popcorn at the fair. The stuff at the cinema doesn't come close. The smell of candy floss reaches out and grabs at your memory as you walk past; the rich smell of roasting chestnuts follows you around the fair and lures you toward the chestnut stalls.

Of course you have to get close enough for the smells to draw you in but once they have, memories and nostalgia comes flooding back.

The fair runs this year until Saturday (16th October.) If you can get to Hull, I'd recommend you paying a visit. If you have children they'll love it, and they'll certainly let you know about it. I'm sure you'll love it too.