2011 Nunney Street Market and Fayre celebrates the Golden Age of Motor Sport

July 19, 2011 - PRLog -- Described by The Times newspaper earlier this month as one of “the village fêtes and fayres to be seen at this summer”, the Nunney Street Market and Fayre attracts thousands of visitors from across Somerset and Wiltshire. The 2011 event will be officially opened by television presenter Imogen Sellers of BBC Points West.

Now in its 36^th year, Nunney fair’s live music, food and drink and over 100 stalls attract thousands of visitors from across Somerset and Wiltshire.  Stalls include plant sales, books, collectibles, charities, arts and crafts to food and drink, toys, fashion and jewellery.  The village hall will host an arts and crafts fair and visitors will be able to climb the tower of Nunney Church. Entertainment throughout the day is provided by Chester the Clown and his magic shows for kids of all ages and live music in front of Nunney Castle.

Royal charter

The history of the Nunney Street Market and Fayre goes back to 1260, when King Henry III granted a royal market charter to the local lord of the manor, Henry de Montfort. Revived in 1975, the Nunney Street Market and Fayre is a firm favourite among Somerset events and a great day out for the whole family.

Last year Nunney commemorated the 750^th anniversary of the granting of a royal market charter with a medieval feast.  This year the event celebrates the Golden Age of motor sports with a display of vintage and classic cars and an exhibition of trophies, photos and racing memorabilia.

Nunney has a long-standing association with Formula One, boasting not one but two residents who ran racing teams at world championship level in the 1950s and 1960s. Rob Walker was one of the most respected personalities in the world of motor-racing; he was not only the first private team owner to secure victory in a Formula One World Championship-qualifying Grand Prix, but also the last ever to do so.  As heir of the Johnnie Walker whisky fortune, he was able to follow his passion for fast cars and employ legendary racing drivers such as Sir Stirling Moss, Graham Hill and Tony Brooks.

In 1939 he co-drove his Delahaye in the Le Mans 24-Hours classic with Ian Connell, taking over at 8pm suitably dressed for dinner in an impeccable dark blue pin-striped suit and tie, then opting for informal Prince of Wales check for the Sunday morning stint. His crew flagged him in for a pit stop because they were down to the last bottle of champagne and they knew he wouldn't want to miss that. "Oh absolutely, quite right." He helped finish the bottle and went back out to finished the race ninth. And drove back to England in the car.

Grand Prix victories

Rob Walker started his own team in 1958, after he had given up racing himself. His Rob Walker Racing Team had a total of nine Grand Prix wins. Moss secured an historic victory in Argentina in a Walker-entered Cooper in 1958. It was the first victory for a rear-engined car and, two years later, the British driver took another famous win at Monaco, driving a Lotus.

These included the first-ever World Championship-qualifying Grand Prix win for a modern-style rear-engined car; this was when Moss won the 1958 Argentine round in Walker's tiny Cooper-Climax, with an engine 20 per cent smaller than the opposing factory Ferraris.

There was also the only F1 race victory ever scored by a four-wheel drive racing car, at Oulton Park in 1961 with Moss in the experimental Ferguson P99. During the 1959 World Championship series, Moss won the Portuguese and Italian Grand Prix in Walker-entered Coopers; in 1960 the Monaco and United States GPs fell to their Lotus-Climax cars; and in 1961 they took the Monaco and German GPs, still with the Lotuses.

Disaster

Born into substantial wealth, Rob Walker was, nevertheless, an astute businessman.  Long before Bernie Ecclestone organised collective bargaining on behalf of all the formula-one teams, Walker's contract with Stirling Moss guaranteed that race organisers had to meet his financial terms if they wanted Britain's top driver to grace their starting grids.

But Moss was not the only winner in Walker's distinctive dark blue and white racing cars. The veteran French driver Maurice Trintignant scored victories in the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix, at Cordoba, Argentina, in 1960 and at Pau, France, in 1962.

Walker Racing was not, however, immune from disaster. Both the Mexican Ricardo Rodriguez and the Rhodesian former racing motorcyclist Gary Hocking were killed in his Lotus cars in 1962. Then his first 3-litre Lotus 49 caught fire while being stripped down, totally destroying Walker's racing workshop at Dorking. Yet his team came back barely three months later when Jo Siffert won the British Grand Prix in a fresh Lotus 49 B at Brands Hatch.

Lord of the manor

Walker's most successful period came to an end when Moss was forced to retire after a crash at Goodwood in 1962. However, he celebrated one of his greatest wins when Jo Siffert drove a Lotus 49 to victory in the 1968 British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch. Walker's team continued into the 1970s under the Surtees banner.

Rob Walker became lord of the manor of Nunney and owner of Nunney Castle after buying property in the village. He died in 2002 aged 84 and his collection was moved to Haynes Motor Museum. Under ‘occupation’ his passport said ‘Gentleman’.

Shortly after Walker moved to Nunney, he bumped into an old friend and colleague in the village shop. George Williams had been heavily involved in racing as Marketing Director of Castrol Oil. George Williams still lives in Nunney and will be a steward at the exhibition during Nunney Fayre.

Exhibition

The 2011 Nunney Street Market and Fayre will pay tribute to Rob Walker and the world of classic motor sports with a small but wonderful display of both vintage and classic cars. The George at Nunney will host an exhibition of trophies, photos and memorabilia.

Jeremy Gaunt, co-ordinator of the 2011 Nunney Street Market and Fayre, says:

“Following last year’s 750^th anniversary celebrations we are confident that this year’s fair will once again be a great day out for visitors of all ages.  A great line-up of classic cars and a motor sports exhibition will be a big draw this year, but there will be truly something for everyone with street entertainers, bands, plant sales and a record number of stalls.”

“Bric-à-brac stalls are traditionally very popular, but visitors to the fayre will this year come across many other interesting stalls and attractions. Thanks to http://www.visitnunney.com, a successful poster and social media campaign and recent publicity in national newspapers, we are looking forward to a record-breaking Nunney Fayre on Saturday 6 August – weather permitting.”

The 2011 Nunney Street Market and Fayre takes place on Saturday 6 August 10.00am - 5.30pm in Nunney, 3 miles south west of Frome off the A361. Admission is free, but a £3 parking charge applies.  For more details visit http://www.visitnunney.com. Nunney Street Market and Fayre is organised by the Nunney Community Association, a registered charity.

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Tourist information for the village of Nunney, near Bath in Somerset, England. Dominated by its moated 14th century castle, Nunney has over 30 listed buildings, accommodation and an ideal location for holidays in the South West of England.