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Eleanor Rayner Collection

 Collection
Reference code: NFA0204

Content Description

Small collection of souvenir newspapers, newspaper cuttings, articles and printed ephemera, relating to the Rayner family and their involvement in the Goose Fair, compiled by Eleanor Rayner.

Dates

  • Creation: c1960 - 2006

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Items are available to view by appointment in our reading room

Conditions Governing Use

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

Biographical / Historical

Eleanor Rayner was born in 1938. She was the daughter of William Rayner and Louise Rayner (nee Danter). William Rayner (often referred to as Billy Rayner) was the ringmaster of flea circus, which he took to fairs across the country, notably the Goose Fair. In an interview with the Nottingham Evening Post in 1957, he talked about the scarcity of human fleas: 'People are much cleaner and flea conscious these days'. The article mentions how he was trained by a German professor before the Second World War. He died in 1992.

William Rayner was the grandson of James Rayner, a play actor, who was born in 1849. James Rayner was married to fellow actor Elizabeth Rayner (nee Perkins), born in 1856. An obituary for James Rayner (also known as Jimmy Rayner) appeared in The World's Fair on his death in 1926. William Rayner's sister, Nellie Rayner married into another showman family on her wedding to Walter Chadwick.

Extent

1 Box(es)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

Catalogued according to type

Cultural context

Occupation

Topical

Status
Completed
Author
Clare Sexton
Date
27/11/2024
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