Steam Horse

[RichardB]

I don't actually know what a Steam Horse is ...

MARSHALL William M 51 M Head Sheffield Steam Riding Horses (Prformer) (Proprietor) 39 Burton St Nether Hallam

MARSHALL Mary F 49 M Wife Sheffield Steam Riding Horses (Prformer) (Proprietor) 39 Burton St Nether Hallam

WHITTINGTON Thos. M 29 M Head Sheffield Travelling With Steam Horse 2 Vans Performer &c Red Lion Yard Duke St (2 Vans) Sheffield

WHITTINGTON Louisa F 26 M Wife Wales Travelling With Steam Horse 2 Vans Performer &c Red Lion Yard Duke St (2 Vans) Sheffield

WHITTINGTON Wm. M 9 Son Sheffield Travelling With Steam Horse 2 Vans Performer &c Red Lion Yard Duke St (2 Vans) Sheffield

BERNARD Edward M 6 Nephew London, Middlesex, England Travelling With Steam Horse 2 Vans Performer &c Red Lion Yard Duke St (2 Vans) Sheffield

[Guest tsavo]

I don't actually know what a Steam Horse is ...

MARSHALL William M 51 M Head Sheffield Steam Riding Horses (Prformer) (Proprietor) 39 Burton St Nether Hallam

MARSHALL Mary F 49 M Wife Sheffield Steam Riding Horses (Prformer) (Proprietor) 39 Burton St Nether Hallam

WHITTINGTON Thos. M 29 M Head Sheffield Travelling With Steam Horse 2 Vans Performer &c Red Lion Yard Duke St (2 Vans) Sheffield

WHITTINGTON Louisa F 26 M Wife Wales Travelling With Steam Horse 2 Vans Performer &c Red Lion Yard Duke St (2 Vans) Sheffield

WHITTINGTON Wm. M 9 Son Sheffield Travelling With Steam Horse 2 Vans Performer &c Red Lion Yard Duke St (2 Vans) Sheffield

BERNARD Edward M 6 Nephew London, Middlesex, England Travelling With Steam Horse 2 Vans Performer &c Red Lion Yard Duke St (2 Vans) Sheffield

Link to the answer, second photo down. http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=h...l%3Den%26sa%3DN

But if you prefer the 'wild and Wacky answer try this: http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=h...l%3Den%26sa%3DN

[DaveH]

I don't actually know what a Steam Horse is ...

MARSHALL William M 51 M Head Sheffield Steam Riding Horses (Prformer) (Proprietor) 39 Burton St Nether Hallam

MARSHALL Mary F 49 M Wife Sheffield Steam Riding Horses (Prformer) (Proprietor) 39 Burton St Nether Hallam

WHITTINGTON Thos. M 29 M Head Sheffield Travelling With Steam Horse 2 Vans Performer &c Red Lion Yard Duke St (2 Vans) Sheffield

WHITTINGTON Louisa F 26 M Wife Wales Travelling With Steam Horse 2 Vans Performer &c Red Lion Yard Duke St (2 Vans) Sheffield

WHITTINGTON Wm. M 9 Son Sheffield Travelling With Steam Horse 2 Vans Performer &c Red Lion Yard Duke St (2 Vans) Sheffield

BERNARD Edward M 6 Nephew London, Middlesex, England Travelling With Steam Horse 2 Vans Performer &c Red Lion Yard Duke St (2 Vans) Sheffield

These people listed are fairground travellers. This seems to be taken from a census and travellers would give their address as the one they were at when the census was taken, hence 3 of these people appear to be camping in their travellers caravans ("vans") at the Red Lion.

The fairground ride with horses on a roundabout is usually refered to as a set of "steam gallopers" due to their up and down galloping motion as well as going around the roundabout. However very early versions of this ride were just horses on a roundabout, without the up and down bit and may well have been refered to as steam horses. What year is this census information from?

However as the horses are in the singular (steam horse) this could simply be a reference to a showmans steam traction engine which he would use to transport his fairground ride and stalls from one fair to the next. The traction engine was originally a "horseless carriage" and it took over a fairground job previously done by horses (hauling loads about) and so could easily have become a "steam horse". Again it depends on the date and I suppose the "language" used by travelling people to describe things as they had their own words and phrases, to them a fair was a "tober" for example.

Note that there would be 2 steam engines. A traction engine would be used for haulage but a big ride would have its own steam engine in the centre to power it. It was only later, in the 20th century that electric motors took over from the ride steam engine, and then the traction engine had to be fitted with a dynamo to generate the electricity to run the ride.

If you wish to research this further it is interesting that the National Fairground Archive which would hold such information is based in Sheffield at Sheffield University.