B. Cole & Sons (Amusements) Ltd (Established 1890)
Biography
The Cole family started to travel the British fairground in 1890. The business passed down from generation to generation of the Cole family and it was Bernard Cole who incorporated the company as B. Cole & Sons (Amusement) Limited on 30 January 1963. Bernard’s two sons Peter (1946-2020) and Billy took over the family business in 1978 and continued running it during the twentieth and twenty first centuries.
The brothers travelled their rides around over twenty fairs sites in Hampshire Dorset and Wiltshire.
The business now is in the hands of Peter and Billy’s descendants.
Found in 10 Collections and/or Records:
B. Cole and Sons Carnival and Fun Fair Poster, c1980 - 1989
Poster left blank for overprinting location and date. Colour lithograph of general view of fun fair with ghost train on the foreground.
B. Cole and Sons Pleasure Fair Poster, Tuesday 15 - Saturday 19 July c1984
Eastleigh. Black type on fluorescent orange background.
B. Cole and Sons Pleasure Fair Poster, Tuesday 15 - Saturday 19 July c1984
Eastleigh. Black type on fluorescent orange background.
B. Cole and Sons Pleasure Fair Poster, Friday 1 - Saturday 9 June c1984
Pennington Common, Lymington. Black type on fluorescent orange background.
B. Cole and Sons Pleasure Fair Poster, Tuesday 9 - Saturday 13 June c1987
Mansell Park, Millbrook Estate, Southampton. Black type over fluorescent orange background with bird’s eye view of fair in black on bottom section.
Chris Russell Collection
This collection contains five boxes of original photographic material including negatives and slides, a small amount of fairground journals, newspaper cuttings, correspondence, six audio tapes and a small amount of posters and handbills all related to the fairground and steam rally events.
Liz Gray Collection
This collection contains a small amount of postcards from the 1908 Franco-British exhibition in London and two videos, one about the Priddy fair and another one about the Cole fairground family.
Posters, c1980 - 1994
Fairground, circus and steam engine rally posters collected by Chris Russell.
Priddy Fair Film, 1983
Film documentary of the Priddy Fair in Somerset produced by Journey Productions, made by Liz Gray and Steve Sklair and sponsored by the Fairground Association of Great Britain. Featuring showman John Cole. VHS PAL tape format.
Razzle Dazzle Film, 1979
Film made by Liz Gray about the life of the Cole fairgroung family in the West of England produced by Bristol University RFT/BBC West and broadcasted on BBC West. Featuring showman Percy Cole. VHS PAL tape format.