In the Crace collection (Port. ix. 99) there is a very fair lithograph
of a bird’s-eye view of the fair in Hyde Park on the occasion of the
coronation of Queen Victoria, on June 28, 1838, and _The Morning
Chronicle_ of the following day has the best and fullest account of this
fair I can find; and, as it is so intimately connected with one of the
most joyful events in the reign of our good and beloved Queen, I may,
perhaps, be pardoned if I give it _in extenso_.
“THE FAIR IN HYDE PARK.
“Of all the scenes which we witnessed connected with the Coronation,
probably this was the most lively, and that in which there was the least
confusion, considering the mass of persons collected together. Our
readers are already aware that the fair was permitted to take place by
the Government, on the petition of the present holders of the show which
formerly belonged to the celebrated Richardson; and it was to their
care, together with that of Mr. Mallalieu, the Superintendent of Police,
that its general management was entrusted. In justice to those
gentlemen, we must say that the arrangements made for the accommodation
of the public were admirable, while they were carried out with the very
greatest success. The booths were arranged in a square form, and covered
a space of ground about 1400 feet long, and about 1000 feet broad.
They were arranged in regular rows, ample space being allowed between
them for the free passage of the people; and they consisted of every
variety of shape, while they were decked with flags of all colours and
nations. One portion of the fair was set apart exclusively for
gingerbread and fancy booths, while those rows by which these were
surrounded were appropriated to the use of showmen, and of persons who
dealt in the more substantial articles of refreshment. Of the latter
description, however, our readers would recognize many as regular
frequenters of such scenes; but, probably, the booth which attracted the
greatest attention, from its magnitude, was that erected by Williams,
the celebrated boiled beef-monger of the Old Bailey. This was pitched in
the broadest part of the fair, and immediately adjoining Richardson’s
show; and at the top of it was erected a gallery for the use of those
who were desirous of witnessing the fireworks in the evening, and to
which access was to be procured by payment of a small sum.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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