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O'Connor-Toulmin Family Collection

 Fonds
Reference code: NFA0025

Scope and Contents

The collection contains photographs, including early family photographs of the O'Connor family, contemporary research, journal articles and books written by Vanessa Toulmin. Also included in the collection are manuscripts and newspaper cuttings.

Dates

  • Creation: c1900 - 2001

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Items are available to view by appointment in the NFCA reading room

Conditions Governing Use

Copies may be supplied or produced at the discretion of National Fairground and Circus Archive, subject to copyright law and condition of the material

Biographical / Historical

The O’Connor-Toulmin family has a long tradition on the travelling entertainment coming from long standing show families from Ireland, Lancashire and Yorkshire.

Professor Vanessa Toulmin was born in Morecambe, one of seven siblings. Her mother was from a Lancashire show family, the O’Connors, who lived at Morecambe where her parents had set up at the Winter Gardens fairground and her grandmother was from a Yorkshire family that travelled the Pot fairs in Yorkshire and as far down as Cambridge. The family left Morecambe when Vanessa was 8 years old after the death of her grandparents. Vanessa spent her childhood working on the fair for her aunts and uncles, in Wales and in Lancashire spinning candy floss and minding children’s rides, amongst other things.

Extent

3 Box(es) (395 photographs, 1 box and 14 books)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

Catalogued according to type

Status
Completed
Author
Created by Ian Trowell, updated by Arantza Barrutia on Finding Aid Date field date
Date
2 March 2015
Description rules
International Standard for Archival Description - General
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the National Fairground and Circus Archive Repository

Contact:
The University of Sheffield
Western Bank
Sheffield South Yorkshire S10 2TN United Kingdom
0114 222 7231