The Grand Henham Steam Rally is a steam rally held every September at Henham Park near Southwold. It features displays of fixed and mobile steam engines and of vintage and classic cars and motorcycles. There are many events and activities, and craft, trade and food stalls. Proceeds are given to local charities. The organiser was forced into liquidation in July 2020.
The steam rally was first organised by Len Murray and held at Lower Green Farm, Sotterley. Given the numbers of attendees, and with the support of John Rous, 4th Earl of Stradbroke, the event moved to Henham Park in 1975. The rally is run by the parochial church councils of Wangford-cum-Henham, Uggeshall and Sotherton; the Wangford Community Council and Southwold (Sole Bay) Lions Club. It is usually held in the Henham Park fields,[1] but on five occasions has taken place elsewhere; at Sibton, Brampton, the Norfolk Showground (west of Norwich), Benacre and Trinity Park, Ipswich.[2] There is an entrance fee, and camping in the park is allowed for an additional fee.[1]
The rally is a charity that gives its profits to local organisations.[3] At the 37th rally in September 2012 over £40,000 was raised for local charities.[4] In 2018 profits went to the UK Sepsis Trust, East Anglian Air Ambulance, Wrentham Community First Responders, SERV Suffolk and Cambridgeshire and Southwold Lifeboat Station.[5] In 2019 recipients included Wangford and District Community Council, Southwold (Sole Bay) Lions Club, Parochial Church Councils of Sotherton, Wangford cum Henham and Uggeshall, Lowestoft and Waveney Samaritans, National TrustDunwich Heath and Beccles and District Guides.[3]
On 9 July 2020 it was reported that Henham Steam Rally Trading Ltd, the company based in Beccles which organised the steam rally, had been wound up because it could not afford to pay for an injury incurred in an accident in 2015. Damages of £76,160 were owing to a Colchester man.[6]
Attractions
Several thousand visitors come to the Grand Henham Steam Rally, which as of 2020 had been run each year for 45 years.[3] Typically there is a bandstand with live music, craft tent and craft stalls, trade stands, food stands and a bar, a vintage fairground, a clown and a Punch and Judy puppet show for children. Displays and demonstrations include steam engines, stationary engines, working agricultural machinery, vintage & classic cars, vintage commercial & military vehicles, tractors and motorcycles.[7]
Tractors at the 2008 Henham Steam Rally
In 2012 there was a parade of steam engines followed by the Southwold and Reydon Corps of Drums, a demonstration of kite flying by Team Spectrum, a parade of vintage and classic cars, and a commercial and military vehicle parade.[4] There was a special pageant, From the sickle to the combine harvester, that told of the evolution of harvesting over the ages.[8] In September 2018 the 44th Grand Henham Steam Rally for the first time let attendees drive a steam engine. Another new display was steam roller barrel rolling.[9] The 2018 rally also included a Dog and Duck Show, where trained sheepdogs herded ducks, and a display of working Shires and Suffolk Punch horses.[5] Other events have included a stunt team display, the Ken Fox motorcycle Wall of Death troupe, horse-drawn carriage rides and a dog agility display.[1]
2020 and 2021 events
The 2020 rally was to have included more than 30 full size and miniature traction engines, steam rollers, lorries and cars. There would be working demonstrations of steam power, including threshing, sawing benches, and stone crushing.[10] The organizing committee for the 2020 rally considered cashless payments, wide one-way aisles to make social distancing practical and greater cleaning, but it steadily became obvious that there would be no way to make the event safe for visitors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] On 3 July 2020 it was decided to cancel the 46th Grand Henham Steam Rally, which was to have been held on 19–20 September 2020, due to government restrictions on large events. The next rally was planned for 18−19 September 2021 at Henham Park.[11]
Although Government COVID-19 restrictions had been eased in July 2021, and despite careful consideration given to options for safely running the 2021 rally, the organising committee felt that continuing uncertainties, and the short time available in which to organise the event, were such that it could not be held in those circumstances. It was therefore cancelled for the second consecutive year, with the 2022 rally set for 17-18 September 2022.
Southwold is a seaside town on the North Sea in Suffolk, England. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth in the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 11 miles (18 km) south of Lowestoft, 29 miles (47 km) north-east of Ipswich and 97 miles (156 km) north-east of London, within the parliamentary constituency of Suffolk Coastal. At the 2021 Census, the population was 950.
Reydon is a village and civil parish, 1.0 mile (1.6 km) north-west of Southwold and 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south-east of Wangford, in the East Suffolk district and the ceremonial county of Suffolk, England. Its population of 2,567 in 2001 including Easton Bavents eased up to 2,582 at the 2011 Census, and was estimated at 2,772 in 2018. The name probably means Rye Hill, Rey meaning rye and -don being an old word for hill or rise). The village is close to the cliffs at Easton Bavents, a village now much eroded. Both were established before neighbouring Southwold. The parish church is St Margaret of Antioch. The parish of Easton Bavents was merged with Reydon in 1987, when part of Southwold was also transferred.
The East Anglian Railway Museum is located at Chappel and Wakes Colne railway station in Essex, England, which is situated on the former Great Eastern Railway branch line from Marks Tey to Sudbury. Services on the Sudbury Branch Line are operated by Abellio Greater Anglia.
Wangford is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Wangford with Henham, in the East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England, just off the A12 trunk road on the edge of the Henham Park estate just outside Southwold.
The Great Dorset Steam Fair is an annual show featuring steam-powered vehicles and machinery. It now covers 600 acres (2.4 km2) and runs for five days. This used to be from the Wednesday after the UK August bank holiday, but from 2016 has been from the Thursday before the Bank Holiday until the Bank Holiday itself. It is reputedly the largest collection of steam and vintage equipment to be seen anywhere in the world. The fair was founded by the Dorset Steam & Historic Vehicle Club, and has been held in Dorset, England, every summer since 1969. The show is now organised by Michael Oliver's son, Martin Oliver, through Great Dorset Steam Fair Ltd.
Sotterley, originally Southern-lea from its situation south of the river, is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district, in the English county of Suffolk, located approximately 4 miles (6 km) south-east of Beccles and 1.5 miles (2 km) east of Willingham St Mary and Shadingfield. The parish is primarily agricultural with a dispersed population of 113 at the 2011 census. The parish council operates to administer jointly the parishes of Shadingfield, Willingham St Mary, Sotterley and Ellough.
Powerland Heritage Park, formerly known as Antique Powerland, is a collection of museums and a self-described heritage site for power equipment, such as farm machinery, commercial trucks, trains, trolleys, construction equipment, logging equipment, and the engines which power them. It is located in Brooks, Oregon, United States, and is operated by the non-profit Antique Powerland Museum Association (APMA). It was initially established by a group of enthusiasts "dedicated to the preservation, restoration and demonstration of steam powered equipment, antique farm machinery and implements."
Frostenden is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. It is around 8 miles (13 km) south-west of Lowestoft and 3.5 miles (5.6 km) north-west of Southwold and lies on the A12 road between Wrentham and Wangford. Neighbouring parishes include Wrentham, Sotterley, Uggeshall, Wangford with Henham, Reydon and South Cove.
The motorcycle sport of racing includes motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Other categories include hill climbs, drag racing and land speed record trials.
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Henham Park is an historic 4,200 acres (1,700 ha) estate in the parish of Wangford with Henham, situated north of the village of Blythburgh in the English county of Suffolk. The park is bordered to the east by the A12 road and to the west by the A145, the two roads meeting to the south of the estate.. It was historically the seat of the Earl of Stradbroke. In 1953 the 4th Earl demolished the Georgian manor house, known as Henham Hall.
The A145 is an A road in the English county of Suffolk. It runs from east of the town of Beccles, close to the border with Norfolk, to the village of Blythburgh where it joins the A12 road. It is around 11 miles (18 km) in length and single carriageway throughout.
Innishannon Steam and Vintage Rally is held between Crossbarry and Innishannon, a village on the main Cork–Bandon road (N71) in County Cork, Province of Munster, Ireland. The show takes place in a 38-acre site.
Sotherton is a dispersed village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district, in the English county of Suffolk. It is located approximately 7 miles (11 km) south of Beccles and 3+3⁄4 miles (6.0 km) north-east of Halesworth. The A145 road passes through the east of the parish area. The mid-2005 population estimate for Sotherton parish was 80. Uggeshall is located just to the north-east, Byford to the south and Blythburgh to the south-east. Latitude Festival takes place a couple of miles east.
The Hunter Valley Steamfest is one of the major events in the New South Wales steam locomotive season and also one of the major events held in Maitland, in the Hunter Region. Held over two days in April, it is usually attended by steam locomotives from the Canberra Railway Museum, NSW Rail Museum and East Coast Heritage Rail and railmotors from the Rail Motor Society.
The A1095 road is an A road in the English county of Suffolk. It runs from Southwold on the North Sea coast to the A12 London to Lowestoft road at Henham between Blythburgh and Wangford. It is around 4 miles (6.4 km) in length and is single carriageway throughout. The entire length of the road lies within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
St Edmund's Church, Southwold is a Grade I listed parish church in the Church of England in Southwold, Suffolk.
Wangford with Henham is a civil parish in the East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. It is around 5.5 miles (8.9 km) east of Halesworth, 3 miles (4.8 km) north-west of Southwold and 8.5 miles (13.7 km) south of Beccles. The parish includes the village of Wangford, the hamlet of Barnaby Green and Henham Park, the site of the Latitude Festival and a variety of other events. The Henham estate, owned by the Rous family, later the Earls of Stradbroke, owned much of the land in the parish and were responsible for many of the buildings in the area.
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