Funfair - British Funfairs

British Funfairs

In the United Kingdom, many larger towns host travelling fairs at specific times of the year (for example Mop Fairs). Frequently the fairground is on an area of common land and has a history extending back to the Middle Ages. For example, St Giles' Fair has been held in St Giles', Oxford since the consecration of St Giles' Church in 1200. In Cambridge, the Midsummer Fair is held on Midsummer Common, an ancient area of common land to the northeast of the city centre. In Scotland, the 1982 Civic Government act brought Funfair/Fairgrounds into the category of Legislated Entertainment. Now all Fairs in Scotland have to apply to the local authority for a Public Entertainments Licence. The process takes 6–8 weeks to complete and costs vary dramatically from region to region.There is no refund for refused licence applications.This licensing act has led to some Fairs being lost due to costs or refusal. The 1982 act was not adopted for Fairs in England or Wales.

Funfairs in England, Scotland and Wales are not the property of one owner, but a collaborative effort between families of fairground Traveller's. Fairs have operated in Great Britain since medieval times, it is unclear how many Showmen families are directly descended or became Occupational Travellers before or after the formation of the Showmen's Guild of Great Britain in 1889. The routes they travel are usually inherited and are much the same from year to year. The average fairground is made up when a Lessee (usually the owner of a large ride) sublets ground and pitches to other showmen who bring their own rides, stalls and shows to make up a fair. This may involve negotiation and bargaining over who gets to put their stalls and rides where, although in many well established fairs 'standing rights' are recognized and passed down through the generations.

The bigger fairs are run by a lessee who will take sites from the Council and advertise them in a showmans newspaper called the worlds fair, but there are many showmen who attend the same event year on year as they have rights to the event as members of The Showmans Guild, they may then attend the next place with the same lessee or go on somewhere else. The lessee is always a ride owner and he will own a couple of rides and will have a son with a couple of rides and other close family. Once the fair is over, the families sometimes go their separate ways, but will cross each other's paths regularly. Their sense of community is strong and it's rare but not unheard of that they "marry out' of the trade. Showmen, as they are known, are proud of their heritage and have their own language, Parlyaree (a mixture of Lingua Franca, Romani, Yiddish, Thieves' Cant, sailor slang, and backslang) e.g. words such as flatty or joskin (meaning someone not from the showman community). Those showmen who don't travel with the fair still remain showmen, being said just to be settled down. The community is clannish and somewhat insular, the received wisdom being that one cannot just become a showman, but must be well respected by other showmen to be allowed to join.

This by definition makes running fairgrounds a family business, and family names are synonymous with fairgrounds in certain areas. e.g. Breeze, Hirst, Fleming, Vanner, Hatwell, Atha, Danter, Marshalls, etc., in the North, and Thurston's, Stocks, Harris and Hedges in the South. The Show/Fairground community is close knit, with multiple ties often existing between the older families and a vibrant social scene centred both around the summer fairs and the various sites and yards used as winter quarters. Hosting an estimated 80% of all Scottish showfamilies, Glasgow is believed to have the largest concentration of Showmen in winter quarters in Europe, centered mostly in Whiteinch, Shettleston and Carntyne. However, new zoning laws and planning difficulties posed by Glasgow City Council look set to push many of these long-established facilities out of the city in the near future.

Since the late 19th century, fairgrounds in the UK have been run by a guild known as the Showmen's Guild of Great Britain. This lays down rules for managing and running fairs, helps them organize fairs and settle member disputes and serves to protect them from deleterious legislation. Unusual for an industrial body, membership is awarded mainly but not exclusively on a hereditary basis.

A new breed of showmen is now appearing. These people are usually fairground enthusiasts and can own preserved older rides. They are connected to the Show communities around Britain but only loosely and they, therefore, have their own organizations such as the Society of Independent Roundabout Proprietors. There is also a further need for rides in the form of private events. This is where the rides are set up for a fee and operated for guests of the person who is hiring them, there are few companies who do this,or you can chance it and hire one from the local fair.

Fairgrounds are common at British seaside resorts, usually run by travelling fairground families who have decided to settle down, in whole or part. Showmen who run fair equipment at the seaside are referred to as sand scratchers or sand dancers. There are also travelling showmen who take their ride to a site and stay there for the summer and go back on the road after that.

An interesting annual attraction in the North Wales resort of Llandudno is the Victorian Extravaganza held over the May Day Bank Holiday weekend.

In regard to confectionery, candy floss stalls are especially associated with funfairs. Sweets are known as fairings and include such things as brandy snaps, toffee apples and at Nottingham Goose Fair, cocks on sticks. Of savoury food, the mainstays are hot dogs, burgers and, in the Midlands and the North of England, hot peas served with mint sauce.

Fairgrounds have sharply declined in popularity over the last few decades, although many families continue to follow their unusual lifestyle. The cost has caused some of this but it is mainly down to Amusement parks who are seen to have better rides

The largest British (and European) travelling fair is The Hoppings on Newcastle Town Moor, which is held annually in the last two weeks of June. The second largest travelling fair is Nottingham Goose Fair held annually in October. The Largest travelling fair in Scotland is held in Kirkcaldy, Fife and known as The Links Market. It dates back over 700 years.

Historically, travelling showmen and the gypsy community had close links, necessitated by the heavy reliance of the business on horsepower. Intermarrying and sharing the same land was not uncommon, although they remained two distinct groups. Nowadays, however, there is often friction between the two communities, and travelling showmen have been known to distance themselves from the gypsy community (by not using Polari, for example) because they feel that the negative stereotype that the British public holds towards the gypsy community could adversely affect their business. The word "gypsy" is often used to refer to travelling showmen, but it is not a phrase that they would use to refer to themselves (the usual term is "traveller") and in fact many would regard this as a slur.