A series of barns deep in the Devon countryside contain an extraordinary collection of fairground rides and memorabilia. Looking after it all is a team of volunteers led by former travelling showman Thomas Rowland.
It doesn’t matter how old or how sensible you think you are. Nearly 50,000 square ft full of moon rockets, Victory gallopers, chariot racers and more will send you silly with excitement.
‘You just see people come through the door and their faces light up,’ says Thomas Rowland. ‘It’ll be nan, grandad, mum, dad, kids – everyone. They can’t help it – people love it.’
Thomas is the manager of Dingles Fairground Museum, a wonderful collection of working vintage fairground rides, plus fairground artwork and exhibits from a bygone age.
Inside these unassuming-looking buildings at Milford Farm, Lifton, is a beautifully restored dodgem car track from the 1930s, a ghost train first built in 1947 and a spectacular set of galloping horses on a carousel, first built in 1920. And that’s just for starters.
There are loads more rides, stalls and arcades and funny mirrors and the magic and colours and lights in here make you want to run around and get far too overtired.
‘It’s great when it’s a busy day and the rides are going, the music’s on and our volunteers are talking on the microphones,’ says Thomas. ‘You get the full fairground experience.’
Thomas knows a thing or two about that. He’s a former ‘travelling showman’ and member of the famous Rowland family, whose links with fairgrounds and rides date back to the mid 19th century.
Thomas grew up in the family business, stopping at different locations for a week or two to set up and pack down, before he was asked to go and manage the world-famous Brighton Pier when he was just 25 years old.
After 10 years there, the opportunity came up to help preserve his fairground heritage in this special spot in the middle of the West Devon countryside.
‘I said yes, of course I did,’ says Thomas. ‘For them to ask me to take over was an absolute privilege. A lot of my heritage is here in these buildings. I just love it – I couldn’t have asked to be in a better place.’
Thomas has helped Dingles through some tough times since taking on the role here after longstanding manager Roger Alford, died in 2019. The attraction – formerly known as Dingles Steam Village - was forced to close for two years when Covid hit. Its future hung in the balance before support from West Devon District Council and Arts Council England, plus a team of dedicated volunteers meant the much-loved attraction could remain open.
Rebranded in 2022 as Dingles Fairground Museum, the site now has a new 25,000 square foot extension which houses the older parts of the collection.
In here, you can see fairground artwork, arcade machines and the amazing Edwards’ Super Sonic Skid (there are long-term plans to get this 1930s thrill ride up and running again). Also in this section are some beautiful examples of vintage ‘living wagons’, where the fairground families used to call home.
‘This was owned by my aunty Delcia Phipps,’ says Thomas, as we stand at the doorway of a wonderfully ornate ‘palace on wheels’, built before the First World War. ‘It’s great, isn’t it?’ says Thomas before we agree they don’t make them like this anymore. ‘When I was born, my mum and dad had a big living wagon with bunk beds at one end, a shower, toilet, living room and another bedroom at the other end. We thought it was amazing but they’re even bigger now and they’ve got all the latest technology.’
Numerous exhibits at the museum are on loan from the country’s well-known fairground families who want to see these precious artefacts enjoyed by new generations of thrill seekers.
My 13-year-old daughter Alice - fresh from a school trip to Thorpe Park (one of the UK’s biggest amusement parks) - has come along today with her entertainment bar set very high.
But she and friend Evie, nine, are in their element, laughing and flying their way around Shaw’s famous Moon-rockets. This ride, which made its debut at Seaforth Easter Fair in Merseyside in 1939, is the last complete surviving and operational one of its kind. During its heyday, the huge attraction required two lorries, three trailers and a team of men to handle it.
‘It was hard work to set up and put down,’ says Thomas, explaining that the moon-rockets had quite a following in their day. The craftsmanship and detail on the ride are incredible. Not that today’s two passengers have paid much attention to the intricate paintwork and clever engineering as they fly around for the 11th time.
This is certainly one of the top attractions here. But Thomas has got a particular favourite.
‘It’s got to be the carousel,’ he says, as we make our way over to the Victory Gallopers. Built in 1920 this is one of few gallopers today to retain all its wooden horses and panels. ‘It’s such a traditional ride and it looks so beautiful,’ he adds, as the girls clamber up to their horses. ‘It’s such a great family ride because everyone can get on together.’
After a good laugh in the hall of mirrors and quick sprint past the ghost train, we all have a go on the super-retro Edwards and Sons Dodgems. This is apparently one of the largest ever to have travelled in the UK and the 96-ft-long track was the first ride to be built at Dingles in 2006.
‘It’s one of our most popular rides,’ says Thomas, before explaining how he recently painstakingly restored and repaired all 30 cars. ‘I managed to do about one and half a day – it took a long, long time,’ he says. Thomas somehow manages to balance his role at this place with running his own funfair amusements business. When he’s finished here for the day, he’s planning to take some of his (modern) rides and games to a local holiday park.
‘The days are long sometimes, especially in the summer but I love it,’ he says. ‘It’s my life.’
Thomas wants to stress that Dingles is by no means a one-man show. There’s a whole curatorial team here, plus up to 12 regular volunteers who have worked hard to bring this place back from the brink. To see it come alive with the shouts and screams of hundreds of excited fairgoers must be a real thrill.
‘The feedback so far has been unreal,’ says Thomas. ‘It’s a great feeling to know that there is somewhere like this, somewhere that’s keeping this important heritage going.’
What fun.
dinglesfhc.co.uk
