Dingles Fairground Heritage Centre facts for kids
| Former name | Dingles Steam Village |
|---|---|
| Established | 2003 |
| Location | Lifton, Devon, England, United Kingdom |
The Dingles Fairground Museum was a special place in Lifton, Devon, United Kingdom. It used to be known as Dingles Steam Village and Fairground Heritage Centre. This museum was home to a fantastic collection of old fairground rides, equipment, and other cool items.
A charity called the Fairground Heritage Trust ran the museum. It first opened its doors in 2003. Many of the rides were carefully fixed up and could be ridden by visitors. Some of these rides were very old, dating back to the early 1900s, and still had their original artwork. The museum closed its doors for good in November 2024.
Contents
History of the Fairground Museum
Starting the Fairground Heritage Trust
The Fairground Heritage Trust is a charity that started in 1986. Its main goal was to find, collect, and fix up old funfair items. This included rides, games, and even artwork from as far back as the 1800s.
In 2003, the charity opened the Dingles Steam Village museum. It was located in Lifton, Devon, which is where the museum stayed.
Growing and Changing Names
The museum got bigger in 2006. After this expansion, it reopened in 2007 with a new name: Dingles Fairground Heritage Centre.
The charity's collection included rides, games, and artwork that once traveled around with funfairs. Many of these rides were restored. If they could be, they were made to work again so visitors could enjoy riding them. To go on the attractions, guests bought special tokens in addition to their entry ticket.
Some of the amazing vintage rides included:
- A 1930s Edwards' Dodgems bumper car ride.
- A Joy Wheel with a spinning disc, which was from around 1910.
- A 1938 Shaw's Moonrocket, which is believed to be the last one of its kind.
Challenges and Closure
The museum faced tough times because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It had to close in March 2020 and struggled to make money. To help raise funds, many items from the charity's collection were sold at an auction. They managed to raise £50,000 this way.
In November 2021, the Fairground Heritage Trust received more help. The government gave them £70,000. This money was part of a special fund to help museums and art galleries that were struggling during the pandemic. The museum reopened in April 2022, after another expansion that was originally planned for 2021.
However, the museum permanently closed on November 3, 2024. The main reasons for this decision were rising costs, its location being a bit out of the way, and the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the museum's collection is now being moved to the Statfold Narrow Gauge Museum in Tamworth, Staffordshire.
