THE HISTORY OF THE STOKE GOLDINGTON STEAM RALLY
The history of the steam rally is inexorably bound together with the history of the Stoke Goldington Village Hall, in that the rally was created by the Village Hall Association to provide finance to support it.
In the mid-1960s the Reverend Geoffrey Lovejoy, Rector of Stoke Goldington, called a public meeting in order to get together a group of villagers to raise funds to build a village hall.
Over the next eight years this hardworking group succeeded in meeting their objective. The hall was built in 1975 and opened in January 1976.
As part of its fundraising efforts in 1975, the Village Hall committee organised a two-day Country Fair at Church Farm, Stoke Goldington, which had been very successful.
It included a Dog Show, Hunter Trial, Greyhound Racing and many other country events.
A nearby village, Weston Underwood, had held Steam Rallies in 1974, 1975 and 1976, but after the 3rd event they decided to call it a day, which gave the Stoke Goldington Village Hall Committee the opportunity to take over the date & event in 1977.
The first Stoke and Gayhurst Steam Rally took place on the 14th & 15th May, 1977 on land farmed by Mr Francis Whiting at Gayhurst Park. The event was a great success.
It featured 11 large steamers; 8 stationary engines; 15 vintage tractors & sundry vehicles. There was also a Dog Show; the Stantonbury Brass Band; The Oakley Hunt paraded their foxhounds & the Royal Pioneer Corps featured their Corps of Drums.
The event was repeated in 1978 but soon became too large for Gayhurst Park and in 1979 moved to West Side Farm in Stoke Goldington, by kind permission of Mr George Nicholls.
He has hosted all the succeeding rallies to date (1991).
Showman’s Engine (George Nicholls on right of picture)
The organisation of the rally is an all the year-round task, in fact plans for the 1992 rally are currently being formulated.
The financial reward of these rallies is manifested in the village Hall which has just completed its 3rd extension.
Written by Derek George – Stoke Goldington Association chairman in February 1991 (for inclusion in the programme for the 1991 Rally)
The Steam Rallies continued every year (with the exception of 2001 because of Foot and Mouth) until 2012, after George Nicholls had sadly passed away.
The SGA has copies of most of the annual programmes, many examples of the official brass plaques and an extensive collection of photographs and committee papers in the archive