Philip Bradley Collection

75 black and white prints of early rides and shows all identified and dated, copied with permission from Surrey History Centre.

Philip Bradley was a passionate and dedicated fairground enthusiast who through documentation of his travels and was able to build a detailed knowledge of fairground machinery. He travelled mainly in the Greater London and Surrey areas, but also travelled across the UK to further increase his knowledge of fairgrounds.

He developed a vast collection of photographs documenting developments of fairgrounds and machinery from pre-war fairgrounds, through the blackout fairs and right up until the more modern machinery of the nineties. Furthermore, his interest and detailed note taking enabled him to create a variety of models which are noted for their accuracy.

His photographs were used in his magazine articles, including those written in the Engineer in the 1950s, and in the many books on fairgrounds that he contributed to.

The Philip Bradley collection is held at Surrey History Centre, but we have permission to have 75 images available on the image database in the NFA reading room.

These items make up part of the image database collection which is available to view by appointment in the NFA reading room.

On the image database

Description compiled by Jane Donaldson

Copyright: Surrey History Centre

Surrey History Centre