Home of the Vagabonds Carnival Club, high st, Bridgwater - Reflections Club door, Bridgwater Town, Somerset, England, UK
Image details
Contributor:
Tony Smith / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
P4HWMDFile size:
34.9 MB (1.1 MB Compressed download)Releases:
Model - no | Property - noDo I need a release?Dimensions:
3024 x 4032 px | 25.6 x 34.1 cm | 10.1 x 13.4 inches | 300dpiDate taken:
19 June 2018Location:
46 High St, Bridgwater, Somerset, England, UK, TA6 3BLMore information:
The Vagabonds Carnival Club was founded in 1947 by Ken Parsons and Walt Creedy, and the club’s first entry, The Miners, took first place at Bridgwater Carnival. Members originally met at Unity House (the local Labour Party headquarters) for a room rent of one shilling per night. The following year, the club moved to The Railway Hotel, and the new home brought further success, after winning the carnival concerts with the stage show Gay Bachelors. The Bristol and Exeter Pub (St John Street) became home to the club in 1951, before it moved to Ye Olde Oake (High Street) after club member, Ray Heal, took a tenancy with local brewers Starkey, Knight and Ford. In 2001, the club were looking for a new site to build its entries after being forced to leave its cart building site at Huntworth after 17 years. After identifying a suitable new site at Dunwear, the club set about constructing a new shed. The cost of doing this, in terms of both time and money, proved a heavy burden, and for the first time in its history, the club was unable to enter a cart into Bridgwater Carnival in 2002. So in true carnival spirit, some members rode the procession route on the back of a lorry, with the remaining members walking behind. The club is currently based at The Gallery, High Street, Bridgwater. Whatever happens, The Vagabonds Carnival Club has already done enough to stamp its mark in the annals of carnival history and will, with luck, continue to do so for a long time to come.