4th November 1955 
Statutes Fair

Giddy roundabouts, swing boats, chairoplanes, switchbacks - each year there is some fresh sickening motion to challenge the pleasure seeker who faces more and more precipitous transport without quailing on an evenings diet of hot dogs. For those who care to keep their feet on the ground and treat their digestive system with more deference, there are the coconut shies and a host of other trials of skill - or perhaps its just a matter of luck. Rainbow lights, popular canned music, crowds of happy children, and also adults trying to recapture their youth - in fact, all the fun of the fair.

This is the picture of the Statutes Fair at Pontefract, though at one time it had a utilitarian purpose. Traders brought goods to sell, people attended to buy them, and servants and farm labourers were hired. These origins were recalled by the Mayor of Pontefract, Councillor R. Egan, when he opened this years Fair, on Friday, and said the first records date back to 1193. With the loss of its significance as a place for trading and hiring, the Fair had declined but it still attracted pleasure seekers and the Mayor wished it every success and hoped it would continue. On behalf of the townspeople he welcomed the Show People and the Mayor then declared the Fair open - a custom that had been observed for many years. There was a free ride on the ‘Noah’s Ark’ for all the children and this was the signal to set the 1955 Statures Fair in motion and the light and the noise soared into the night air of the historical town.

"The Pontefract Statutes dig deep into our history and into the lives of our people", said the Mayor of Pontefract, Cr R.Egan, in proposing a toast to "The Pontefract Statutes" at the second annual dinner and dance of the tenants of the Statutes Fair held at Wordsworth Cafe on Wednesday. Nearly 200 people including showmen from all over Yorkshire, were present and the President of the Amusements Rides Association, Mr. W. Shaw, presided.

The Mayor stressed the historical importance of statutes fairs and said that he understood that the statutes for a fair at Pontefract was granted in about 1193. For many years the fair was held in the streets of the town and he said that it was an important factor still in the heart of the town, where he hoped it would always remain. He felt that the continuance of the statutes fair was the continuance of the town’s life and character.

In response, Mr. J. Finney, of Leeds, and a member of the Showman’s Guild, said that although there were times when the weather made fairground conditions miserable, the showmen always tried their best to cheer up the public. He emphasised the amicable relationship between the Pontefract townsfolk and the fairground people. The saying "the show must go on" was still the number one rule of the showmen. Showmanship was steadily changing our lives, as it has done in the past few years, from Shakespeare to silent films, then to ‘talkies’ and now television.