Goathland, near Whitby, to host one of the oldest village shows in North Yorkshire

The village sports shows with running races, horse races, sheep dog trials along with a variety of other sporting activities go back to the 1890s and they

were promoted by local hostelries, primarily The Cross Pipes and The Lord Nelson Inn.

There was also a fair held throughout the village for at least a week in August as part of the Sports Show.

The first major show in the village was on King George V Coronation Day in 1911 when there was a full day of free activities including a children’s pets show, an exhibition of wildflowers, Maypole dancing, a singing contest, a baby show, a pony race and children’s and adults sports and a whist drive.

Annual shows continued during the 1920s and 1930s with colourful processions of fancy dress and big village dances.

In 1939, the village hall was taken over by the army for gas training, but after the war there were annual fetes and May Fairs.

For nearly fifty years there was also the annual Goathland Chrysanthemum Society Show and then in 1958 the Flower and Vegetable Show ran for many years and in 2019 was re-named The Goathland Village Show.

And this year, on Saturday August 17, you will be able to see and hear a Decap fairground organ at the show.

These were particularly popular in Belgium, as almost every waterfront bar in Antwerp used to own a dance organ.

Instruments played by this organ include pipes, snare drums, castanets, cymbals, and xylophone bars – its effect is like a small orchestra.

However, another such organ is coming to Goathland, kindly lent by the Scarborough Fairground Museum which has the largest collection of fairground

rides, mechanical organs, steam engines and vintage vehicles in the north.

This is a first ever for Goathland, so people can go to see and hear this huge and spectacular 30ft long organ outside the village hall from 1pm till

4.30pm on show day, and have lots of fun.