The Great Dorset Steam Fair

The Great Dorset Steam Fair – John Glass: Talk to the Rotary Club of South Foreland on 29/08/10

John has always been involved in engineering since his early days at Cullin’s Yard, and his love of steam traction engines, Scammel Explorers and other large machines came across in his talk to club members.  In the past he attended many local steam fairs, such as at Waldashare Park and Chilli Farm where he knew many other enthusiasts.  When his children were at St Edmund’s he drove a steam engine through the streets of Dover to the school fete, where it was a great attraction.  He once owned a Scammel Explorer (see photo) which was displayed in the Dover Transport Museum when it was located near Connaught Hill.

This August saw the 50^th Anniversary of the Great Dorset Steam Fair, a five day event which John likened to a giant version of the East Kent Ploughing Match.  The Fair was started by Michael Oliver MBE who sadly died in 2009 but is fondly remembered, particularly this year.  The site was at Stourpaine Bushes for many years but as the Fair grew in size and popularity it was moved to Everley Hill and then to the present site at Tarrant Hinton north of Blandford Forum in 1988.  It is one of Europe’s largest outdoor events which showcases our agricultural heritage and culture, as well as providing entertainment.  This year it cost £2.5 million to set up, with 1,000 trade stands, marquees, 2000 exhibitors, 5000 caravans and tents, all on a 700 acre site.  The Fair regularly attracts 250,000 visitors from the UK and abroad and there can be 30,000 people on site at any one time.  The extent of the site can be envisaged from John’s comments that cars can be seen from horizon to horizon and that shuttle buses are used to ferry people from the camping and car parking sites to the centre.

This year there was a record number of 524 steam engines on site.  The record number of steam rollers was 103 in 2013, and the record numbers on moving steam rollers (rolling a new section of road on site) was 32 in 2003.  An important aspect of the fair is that many engines on display perform the work for which they were designed, such as heavy haulage, ploughing, threshing corn, sawing logs and road making.  Others take part in the ‘Showman’s Line Up’ in the vintage fairground section, probably the largest collection of such engines in the world: there is an example in the photos.

Set in the beautiful Dorset countryside with the sights, sounds and smells evocative of a bygone era, the atmosphere softens as dusk then darkness falls and the lights of the traction engines and fairground take over at the end of a busy day.  For the organisers, traffic and toilets are the main challenges.

PS On a personal note John’s talk reminded me of working on a threshing machine run by a static steam engine in the Old Kent Barn on our family farm when I was a lad.