Friday, 26 February 2010

The boating connection

Advert of Savage's Roundabouts - Copyright King's Lynn Museums

image © King's Lynn Museums

I mentioned yesterday that there was a boating connection with the gallopers of yesterday's post. I have also mentioned that I'm reading Victorian Engineering by L. T. C. Rolt, author of Narrow Boat and co-founder of the IWA. In one chapter Rolt talks about the influence on agriculture of steam engines, and how agricultural engineers, especially in East Anglia, branched out into providing steam power for fairground rides.

From the book:

"The original fairground ride, the roundabout or 'gallopers', was propelled by horses, but in the 1870s a Norfolk agricultural engineer named Sidney Soame of Marsham built a very small portable steam engine which he used to drive a roundabout at Aylsham Fair. By doing so he laid the foundation of a considerable industry. Soon several country engineering works were producing a variety of mechanical fairground rides: steam gallopers, steam yachts and scenic railways, while to haul these rides from town to town the sober agricultural traction engine blossomed forth as a 'showman's engine', decked out in a baroque splendour of twisted brass and columns and other decorative metalwork."

A little later on:

"One of the first to profit by the example set by Sidney Soame was Frederick Savage of the nearby St. Nicholas Ironworks in King's Lynn. He took up the manufacture of fairground machinery with such energy, skill and success that the name of Savage soon became so famous in this field that its earlier association with agricultural engineering was almost forgotten."

There's more about Savage and King's Lynn here.

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