Stephen Smith's Early 80s
Part 3 - Arks and Waltzers in Yorkshire
Stephen Smith is a renowned author and fairground activist. These images are from a selection of his first photographs, with Stephen moving in to photography at the end of the 1970s. His work from the early 80s covers a lot of geographical ground, with Stephen searching out some lesser-observed machines and capturing their presence with good attention to composition and detail.
Click here for part 1 - Arks and Waltzers in Scotland
Click here for part 2 - North East Arks and Waltzers
As with other regions in the north, Yorkshire fairs enjoyed a high proportion of Arks and Waltzers up to and through the 1980s. The Eddy family had purchased the impressive ex-Codona machine which began the decade lettered in the name of the original owner, whilst Albert Evans and george Ling had dedicated and long serving Waltzers. Some machine would vanish through the decade - Bill Swift, the Lace family, Stewart Robinson's original Lakin Ark... Into the 21st Century and the Eddy, Evans and Atha family still operate first-class machines in the section.
This German machine still operates with the Harniess family.
Stewart Robinson's machine maintaining originality.
Lace's Lakin Waltzer soon moved out of the section to head for Scotland.
This side-view of Shaw's timeless machine shows a different style of decoration.
A Yorkshire classic - Atha's super Orton Speedway.
A recent purchase for Sheldon Dowse, the ride remains with the family.
Henry Shufflebottom's Waltzer - a rare sighting.
George Ling's Lakin Waltzer became a shadow of its original style.
Albert Evans' Waltzer a few years before its iconic 80s pop transformation by Paul Wright.
Not a Yorkshire machine, but a regular visitor to the important Woodhouse Moor presentation.
Swift's Ark seen at the St Leger event.
The Harniess family took the hard-working Cumbria Taylor Ark and used it through the 80s. The classic Hall and Fowle decor is still retained with current owners the Dorman family.
An import from Merseyside, this became a classic Yorkshire Waltzer by the end of the millennium.
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