Dobbies Ride – 1 Humanpower at the Steam Fair, E3, May 24 2009
Image by sludgegulper
This hand-cranked ride caught my eye at Carter’s Steam Fair in Victoria Park,discreetly hiding among the steam powered carousel, yachts Scamells, Atkinsons,ERFs and Fodens. Constructed by W.H. Halstead in Sowerby Bridge who specialised in juvenile fairground equipment. This name, despite being carried by an Essex town, is commonplace in the Calderdale Pennines.
WILLIAM HENRY HALSTEAD was born in 1873 in Norland, Halifax , the son of the owner of a wheelwrighting business who was by 1881 operated in West Street, Sowerby Bridge, John Paul Halstead who died in 1893, and whose business was continuied by William who subsequently took out fairground equipment patents.
This small carousel was found in Ireland and restored in the late 1980s and is run by Seth Carter who along with Anna Carter also decorated it.
Several years ago,Anna Carter sold another wonderful, slightly earlier , hand-cranked Halstead carousel ,acquired by the late John Carter in the 1970s as a prelude to opening his famous steam fair, to John Barker a private fairground collector and author of Roundabout Relics who had it meticulously restored.
At Dingle’s Fairground Heritage Centre, near Launceston in Cornwal, another example of Halstead’s amusement engineering may be seen at the heart of Edwards’ Golden Gallopers, from almost the same period.
Just one more internet referenced photo of another Halstead "Dobby or Dobbies Ride", (so called because there is no vertical movement and no platform ) may be seen here on this larger electrically operated piece
Further up the Lee Navigation, the Sowerby Bridge manufactuing industry is again represented by the very rare Wood Bros 8 column Woolf compound beam engine in the Markfield Pumping Station, N15, which was restored to working order once, but will probably never be fired up again.
We were fortunate our son was able to ride the splendid Lighthouse Slip of Rule and Rule which arrived in the beautiful ERF 8×4. They also have their own steam gallopers.
Dobbies Ride – 1 Humanpower at the Steam Fair, E3, May 24 2009 is a post from: Yacht, Boat Engine, Supplies
