The History of Barnstaple Carnival

When times were hard between the two world wars, local communities were very dependant on charities. In 1928 three local charities joined together to discuss how they could raise money to support their cause.

The North Devon Infirmary, The Red Cross and St.John Ambulance were involved and it took three years to plan the first Barnstaple Charities carnival in 1931.

Barnstaple Fair was a well established tradition and the Carnival was timed so that Barnstaple could celebrate after the annual fair had finished at midnight on the Friday.

The first carnival in 1931 saw an extraordinary number of entries and records suggest that the procession was a mile long. Over the following years, Carnival developed and the Charities relied heavily on securing a good number of entries and, of course a good collection from the event.

Indeed these principles continued and with the involvement of additional charities, Barnstaple Carnival became the main fundraising event of the year. As more charities were registered within the town and access to grants became more accessible, carnival was no longer required as the main fundraiser, which meant that Carnival in Barnstaple could become a celebration of life in the town rather that solely a means of supporting local charities.

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