The pleasure fair would become extinct; such was the prophecy of the writer of this article, lamenting the decline in attendance at the Stamford Mid-Lent pleasure fair. How shocked he would be to see it now, utterly transformed from exhibits of ‘dwarfs, giantesses, extraordinary cows, talking pigs’ to a collection of fairground attractions, from bumper cars, rollercoasters, trampolines to fortune tellers.
‘At one time, before the age of locomotive transit, the Midlent pleasure fair at Stamford was looked forward to by all classes with great expectation, and was considered worthy of patronage by all the élite of the town and neighbourhood ; but now, since access to the great metropolis has become so cheap and easy, there has been a gradual falling off in the attendance of–first of the visitors, & then of the attractions & amusements ; and at length the prophecy, “that in course of time, country fairs would become extinct,” seems to be fast approaching verification. At the mart last week there was a marked decline in the attendance of exhibitions and amusements, as also of visitors ; and even amongst those who did attend there seemed either a scarcity of money or want of excitement ; and it is not at all unlikely many of the proprietors of stalls and shows will be deterred from again visiting this fair, owing to the little support they met with on this occasion. The principal attractions were Wombwell’s collection of wild animals, whose band drew more listeners than the zoological specimens inside did spectators, for at no time was the attendance very large ; Clapton’s exhibition of moving figures, we believe, had the lion’s share of patronage, and Stevens’ menagerie was pretty well supported. There were also a peep show and one or two others of the minor class of exhibitions, consisting of dwarfs, giantesses, extraordinary cows, talking pigs, &c., with the usual complement of photographic and rifle galleries, all of which appeared to suffer from a want of money or an extra expenditure on the Royal wedding-day. There was likewise a diminution in the attendance of the light-fingered gentry, for we have only heard of one case of pocket picking during the whole of the fair : this was probaby owing to the efficient police arrangements.’
Stamford Mercury, 27 March, 1863.