King's Traditional Fair

Vintage Fairground Rides the children will love - from Huby's Brian King.

It is thought that the funfair originated in Roman times, though this is not a certainty. What is documented is that during the Middle Ages in Europe, there were chartered fairs. These were essentially trade shows that took place roughly between 1200 and 1400. They were gatherings of international traders and their wares, and subsequently included entertainers. It is likely that funfairs are the descendants of chartered fairs.

By the eighteenth century in England, the entertainment portion of the chartered fair had become a spin off known as the funfair, and provided amusement for communities as its bands of unusual humans and wild animals, jugglers, acrobats, puppet shows, peep shows and other acts travelled about the country. Funfairs introduced the first fairground rides around this time.