Hampton Court’s Annual Family Fair 2023 - 5th April until 10th April
There is no better place to visit than Hampton Court’s Fantastic Annual Fair.
The Hampton Court Funfair, crammed with family fun and white knuckle rides, is gearing up for its annual showpiece this year and only £2 to enter (must be paid contactless) – under 3yrs no charge.
Your safety is our number one priority and we have made significant changes to this Fair which makes it COVID-19 secure.
To save time please register with our Track and Trace system at www.irvinleisure.co.uk/track before you come or register when you arrive at the Fair.
For your safety and convenience you can now pay contactless on all rides, game stalls & food units or you can purchase tokens from the token booth.
The Fair will open at 12noon on Wednesday 5th April and stay open right through to 11pm that night and then open the same time every day right up to and including Monday 10th April.
The will be a fun packed week featuring children’s rides, traditional games and stalls, a wonderful Carousel as center-piece, and even a Ferris Wheel.
George Irvin’s Hampton Court Palace Easter Funfair has entertained families through generations and has become a focal point of local life, running for over 150 years.
With a Car Park for those who want to drive but close to great public transport links (Trains from Waterloo and buses from all around West London) this easy to find fair includes everything you could hope for on a bank holiday weekend with children’s rides, traditional games and stalls, a wonderful Carousel as centre piece, plus a Giant Wheel with views of all the area, and white knuckle thrills for the brave. And all of this with free admission and all at special low prices so that everyone can attend and enjoy this event.
Come and join us in 2023 when we open on 5th April to 10th April.
5th & 6th April – All rides 1/2 price!
We always encourage those thousands of families who visit our fair to look around the area as well. There are shops to visit and of course the Palace itself with the gardens and Maze as well as the buildings with their long and troubled history dating back 500 years to good old Henry VIII who was gifted the Palace by Cardinal Wolsey and was so grateful for this that he waited a couple of years before cutting off his head. The only thing that saved Wolsey’s life was that he died naturally before he could be beheaded. Lucky man, in a funny sort of way. At least he could rest in peace and not in pieces.
Visit the Hampton Court Palace Website for more information on this unique Royal building whilst on this website you can find full travel details to our festival.
There are cafes and bars nearby, a marvellous view of the River Thames at this beautiful location with the fascinating Swiss Chalet by the banks of the river. This building has an intriguing history, almost as exciting as the Palace itself (though with less beheadings!)
This building was prefabricated and shipped from Switzerland in 1882 as a feature for the garden of a house called Riverholm, demolished by the 1920s and replaced with the houses you now see stretching downstream past the weir.
There’s a story that the land was given by the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) in payment for a gambling debt, which seems unlikely. But by 1909 it was called O’Hagan’s boathouse, and Edward did have a Lord-in-Waiting called Maurice Herbert Towneley-O’Hagan, 3rd Baron O’Hagan (1882-1961). So maybe the legend is a bit true. It’s also possible O’Hagan was imitating the Swiss Chalet built as a playhouse at Osborne House for Victoria and Albert’s children in 1854. Fred Karno, of silent film fame, friend and mentor of Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel, is claimed to have once owned this building too.
After a period as the boathouse for Riverholm, the Swiss Chalet was used as part of Hucks and Co boatyard (owned by Frank Hucks, then by his son Dick) until 1996 and was up for sale for £2.5 million. It’s now been sold, but nothing seems to have happened yet.
We look forward to welcoming you to Hampton Court Fair and whilst we cannot promise beautiful weather as that is outside our control, we will all be hoping for a lovely Spring Week. You, and I, deserve that much!
Visit the Hampton Court Palace website for more information on this unique royal building and further information on travelling to the Easter Fair. http://www.hrp.org.uk/
We look forward to welcoming you to Hampton Court Fair. You can also check out our other website www.irvinleisure.com