Proctors Funfairs (Established c1870)
Biography
The Proctor Fun Fairs have been operating in the British fairgrounds for over 150 years. The dynasty started in the circus with Robert Alexander Proctor (b.1832) and his wife Maria Codman, who had eleven children. Some of their children made their way into the fairgrounds via marriage, including John Albert, grandfather of John Proctor, who runs the business in the twenty first century. John Albert married Sarah Ann Hall, from the Hall fairground family from Belper, where the family took base. They began to operate in the fairgrounds around Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, while still running the Protor Circus shows, with a bioscope show. Gradually, they added rides to their repertoire including the Peacock swtchback, build by Orton and Spooner, and the Dragons. Overtime, the business grew, and they incorporated more rides to their offer including the Noah’s Ark, Waltzer and Dodgems. The family moved their base to Ilkeston and later Nottingham where they are based today. The business passed to their son Albert Proctor, who run it until his death, when it passed to his son John proctor, who currently manages it.
Found in 12 Collections and/or Records:
Blueprints of Plans and Sketches for Fairground Rides, c1887 - 1940
Business Records, 1889 - 2003
Business records containing minutes of meetings, financial records, documents related to legislation and urban planning, Showmen's Guild diaries, year books, records on the campaigns run by the Showmen on the defence of Mitcham, Norwich, Manchester, Nottingham and Cambridge fairs.
Helter Skelter Elevation, 1914
Helter skelter structure arrangement for Proctor with notes.
Original Artwork, c1900 - 1929
Drawings and designs used for the decoration of fairground rides.
Orton and Spooner Collection
This collection contains a large selection of archives from the Orton and Spooner Company. The collection comprises photographs and cabinet card images showing carved work, structural work and classic painted work, 4 boxes of notes, invoices and clippings, 8 drawers of plans and blueprints, 2 folders of ride specifications and order forms, accounts books and a library of source books showing turn of the century art used by the artists in the company.
Photographic Album, 1905 - 1954
Photographic album containing black and white photographs of fairgrounds, fairground rides, steam engines, living wagons, globe of death, fairground shows, circus and showpeople, including Holland, Pat Collins, Cox, Proctor, Corrigan, Shufflebottom, Shaw, Marshall, Waddington, Ling and Pullen at Nottingham Goose Fair, Hull Fair, Lincoln, Huddersfield and other locations and showmen with notes. Photographs taken and collected by Rowland Scott, 19p.p.
Photographic Album, 1899 - 1955
Plans, c1916 - 1939
Blueprints of electric parts for fairground rides supplied by Mather & Platt Ltd and Hackett & Co., Electrical Engineers to Orton and Spooner.
Records Related to Nottingham Goose Fair, 1928
Contains documents related to the management and defence of Nottingham Goose Fair, including correspondence from William Savage, Pat Collins, E.H. Bostock, John Collins, Mellor Brothers, John Proctor a paper entitled The Defence of Fairs, a case for the opinion of counsel, an floor plan of the fair and newspaper cuttings. Typescript and manuscript.
Section Drawing of Proctor's Noah's Ark, c1930 - 1939
Roof section of Proctor's Noah's Ark with notes and dimensions. Pencil on paper.
Sketch of Peacock, March 1924
Sketch of a peacock motive for Proctor's mascot seen from the front and side. Pencil on brown paper.
The Showmen's Guild of Great Britain Collection
The main extent of the collection contains yearbooks, meetings and minutes, correspondence and a record of day to day activities within The Showmen's Guild of Great Britain.
Additional filters:
- Type
- Archival Object 10
- Collection 2
- Subject
- Amusement rides 10
- Animals 2
- Architecture 3
- Ark 4
- Art 2
- Boxing 6
- Business 10
- Cakewalk 2
- Caravans 5
- Circus 4
- Clowning 1
- Coaster 2
- Dodgems 2
- Dwarfs (Persons) 1
- Engineering 6
- Fairground art 7
- Fairs 6
- Food 1
- Gallopers 2
- Games 4
- Ghost train 2
- Globe of death 1
- Helter skelter 4
- Joy wheel 4
- Law 2
- Menageries 2
- Motion pictures 1
- Musical performances 2
- Pleasure gardens 1
- Scenic railway 3
- Showman 6
- Showwoman 5
- Sideshows 5
- Slide 3
- South African War, 1899-1902 1
- Switchback 3
- Transport 6
- Vending stands 1
- Wall of death 2
- War 2
- Water Dodgems 3
- World War, 1914-1918 4
- World War, 1939-1945 3
- Yachts 3 + ∧ less