We’re in Crystal Palace Park at the moment, where funfair rides have been delighting people for well over a century. Here you can see Sir Hiram Maxim’s Captive Flying Machine in front of the Crystal Palace in 1904 (postcard from George Irvin’s personal collection). This ride was designed by Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim, an American-born […]
It’s been 60 years since Mary Poppins premiered, and Dick Van Dyke who played lovable chimney sweep Bert in the film (complete with atrocious cockney accent) has just won an Emmy award at the age of 98! Did you know that we supplied funfair props for both the 1964 Mary Poppins film and the 2018 […]
As we’re at Barham Park at the moment, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to share this 100-year-old footage from the greatest funfair that Wembley has ever seen: part of the 1924 British Empire Exhibition, for which Wembley Stadium was built. At almost fifty acres, it was the world’s largest amusement park, and it […]
Our funfair is currently on Islington’s Highbury Fields, but did you know that our ancestor George Irvin was born at the fair in Highbury in 1850? As you can see from this excerpt from the birth register below, George Irvin was born to James Abraham Irvin (NOT Irving!) and Elizabeth Irvin (née Young) on 12th […]