A photograph contemporary with that in ”Saltburn, A Renaissance”, only taken from Cat Nab. This shows the roundabouts where the boat park is now; I think this dates into the 1960’s. Tony Auffret tells us: ”I think this was still there in 1960. The “amusement” on the far right was a “waltzer”. There were “swing boats” behind along the edge with the beach.” Callum Duff has a dating update: ”Although Skelton Beck was used for boating before 1962, the ‘official’ council-run boating lake with sluice gates to regulate the depth of the beck, segregated areas for larger and smaller boats and the marking out of car parking spaces and the toilet block was laid out in 1962. The reason I know this is that I have a copy of the 1961 centenary film (where there is no boating lake visible) and a copy of a 1963 film of Saltburn where the boating appears to be well-established and very popular. This postcard image was taken between 1962 (when the boating lake was completed) and 1974 (no postcards images of Saltburn were produced between 1974 and 1978). The Waltzers remained on this site until 1978 and the rest of the rides and buildings had been removed by 1983.” Rick Avern enquired: “Does anyone know who owned these rides in the 1960’s.” Alan Collins advised: “My mother worked in the cafe and beach shop, owned by the family who also owned the little fairground. To the right of the bog waltzer was a rifle range with metal targets that were knocked over with the .22 rifles. The family who owned the fairground, beach shop and cafe lived in the farm house, on the other side of a little wooden bridge, behind where this photograph was taken. The family also owned the shop (behind where you can see a small brick cemented paddling pool behind white wooden railings, which was also dismantled in the early 1950’s). It sold sweets, ice cream, postcards, and the usual stuff – but my mother persuaded the owners to serve hot food.”
Image courtesy of Jean Dean; many thanks to Callum Duff, Tony Auffret, Rick Avern and Alan Collins for the updates.
Did the Sellers or Vernons own the fair in the 60′ and 70’s? I can remember the shooting gallery, they had mothballs to shoot at too and the smell was very strong!!
I think it may have been a chap called Laurie Rudland who owned the fair during the sixties. I worked at Atkinson & Thompson at Carlin How and we used to due a few repair jobs for him
The Vernons were certainly there in the 70s.
An elder of the family lived in a showman’s caravan that was tucked in alongside the road behind Cat Nab in the 70s and had been there for sometime I believe.
A schoolmate was one of the Vernons.