History:
This set of Gallopers was built in 1911 by Walkers of Tewkesbury, England for a retired Fairground Lion tamer, Frank Wilson, "The Great Lorenzo". In 1922, the ride was open at a fete at Bookham, & ridden on by The Duke of Your, later King George VI, the Queen's father. The ride was slightly remodeled in 1930 by Lakins, fairground ride builders of Stretham, London, for the Edwards's, havin
g an outside row of double seat horses carved & fitted. Also new roundingboards were built. The ride was sold in 1950 to J.J. Butterworth of Lancashire; in 1959 to
Joe Stevens of Chertsey. Joe Stevens removed the original Walker Steam Centre Engine which was in a poor condition & sold it to Jeff Bach who restored it, & it is now in Mick Gouldings gallopers. In 1961 the Ride was sold to Andrew Dunn of Scotland, & 1963 to Screeton Bros of Barton on Humber. 1966 the ride was sold to Teddy Reed of Amersham, & he added a No.6 Savage Centre Engine, works No:573 formerly in Walker Hoadley’s 4-abreast Galloping Centaurs. Then in 1968 to Nelson Smith, Croxley Green, Herts. In 1972 it was traveled by Mrs Nelson Smith following her husbands death. In 1979 the ride was sold to a collector, Fred Coupland of Boston, Lincs. In 1988 it was sold to a Swiss collector. The Gallopers were packed in a container & exported to Swirzerland where it opened on a few occasions & had various owners there. It ended up partially built up in a steam museum in Thun. In 2001 after being advertised in The Worlds Fair newspaper it was bought by us, Simon Harris & Kevin Scrivens, Harris & Scrivens Amusements, Telford. At that time we were operating vintage amusements at Blists Hill Victorian Town, a recreated Victorian industrial town, one of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum sites, in Shropshire. Restoration:
Although complete, the ride was not in an operating condition, so major work was required to restore it. The horses & cockerels were still the original wooden ones & the 1930 carved wooden roundingboards were still on it, although very split. The horses & roundingboards had been overpainted many times. The 1893 Steam Centre Engine had been operated on compressed air in Switzerland, but was unsteamable, needing a new boiler & firebox. The Chanel 4 programme Salvage Squad were looking for a Fairground Ride restoration project, & became involved. They spent a few days filming with us. Their involvement meant the Centre Engine was rebuilt sooner than we had anticipated & the restoration of the horse, "Senhora" that the Duke Of York, later King George VI, rode on in 1922. Initially we researched the history of the ride & located as may photos of it over the years as we could for reference, & carefully striped the later paint off the roundingboards to reveal the original colours & lettering so this could be reproduced on the restored boards. This is a process we have followed throughout the restoration of the ride to bring it back to its original appearance. Although we had the ride operating within a year of bringing it back from Switzerland, we are still working on the restoration of the ride. One of the final pieces we worked on was the Top Centre Shutters, where we have revealed portraits of Boer War generals & Edward VII & Queen Alexandra, putting these boards earlier than the 1911 date of the rest of the ride.
