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Indeed, the Corn Exchange had become virtually unused. There was even the threat that it might be demolished to make way for housing to raise money for the Town and Manor, who
were the owners.
Something had to be done. At a crisis meeting of the Trustees of the Town and Manor, John Newton, who had a lifelong passion for steam engines, volunteered to help
arrange a Steam Engine Rally on the Common.
The event held on 13th and 14th June 1970 was a huge success, and it became the first of seven such rallies held over the following eight years.
There was a very wide range of entertainments including:
- Military Bands
- Narrow gauge railway
- Punch & Judy
- Sheep shearing
- Vintage cars and motor-cycles
- Wheelwright display
- Wood carving
- Hungerford's old horse-drawn fire engine
- Fairground rides
- Donkey rides
- Free-fall parachute displays.
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About 20,000 people attended each show, perhaps the largest crowd ever on the Common. The visit of General Eisenhower in
1944 is said to have brought 18,000 people. The Bare Knuckle Prize Fight of December 1821 was said to have attracted 22,000 people - but there must be some doubt about this claim!
The adjacent thumbnails show some pages from the comprehensive catalogue. Click each thumbnail to see a larger version.
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