Messrs. Geo. Orton Sons & Spooner
Ltd., - A Brief History.
George Orton. - was born in Measham Leicestershire in 1843, and died
in Stretton, Burton upon Trent in 1924 aged 81 years. He had two sons, Tom and
Charles, and daughters Annie and Rose. A Wheelwright / Coach Builder by trade,
he bought some land in Princess Street, Burton, where he established the ' Lion
Carriage Works' in 1875 - by 1911 the firm was described as Orton & Sons,
show-van builders.
Charles J. Spooner. - was born in 1871 in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire,
and died in the same town in 1939. After college, he was apprenticed to Walter
Gifford Hilton, a Wood Carver of Victoria Street, Burton. C.J.Spooner established
his business during 1892 in his late father's ' Old Swan Hotel ' yard, hence
the origins of the location name of 'Swan Works.' In 1894 he married Matilda
Annie Rosser, who died 14 months later, which was only two months after the
birth of their son Jack. He re-married in 1896 to Rose Annie Orton (George Orton's
daughter), and they had three daughters, his trade at that time was described
as a 'Wood Carver'. In 1900, the business was transferred to Meadow Road, which
is situated off the Old Trent Bridge in Burton, the carving business stayed
there until the early 1930's.
Other Facts. - The two firms were associated from 1894, although
they were often identified and unofficially called Orton & Spooner because
of their close working relationship - they did not legally amalgamate until
31 years later during 1925. George Orton purchased 7 acres of the Victoria Crescent
Field, Burton during 1911, on this ground the new Erecting Sheds were built
which could house one of the new machines. (It is worth noting, that A.S.Howell
II was now working for George Orton as his design artist, and part of the new
structure was purpose built to accommodate the huge rounding boards he needed
to paint for the Electric Scenic Railways.) 
The first Electric Scenic Railway was built in 1912 for Holland Bros.of Swadlincote,
South Derbyshire. The machine was 57 feet in diameter and had a circular switchback
track, on which ran 8 electrically driven motor cars, each one in charge of
a Chauffeur - control was from the pay box. Within a peak period of twenty years,
some 32 similar machine were either built new, rebuilt and/or modified. The
various vehicles for the ride were constructed by C.J.Spooner at the Swan Works,
some weighed 30cwts each, they were transported to the Lion Works in Princess
Street, where they were prepared for painting and gilding etc., The last Scenic
Railway to be built by Orton & Spooner was completed in October 1925, it
was also the first machine to be fitted with Dolphin cars from new and was supplied
to William Davis of Stoke-on-Trent.
The Crescent Erecting Sheds were
completely destroyed by fire just before Christmas 1924, George Orton died two
days later. Business was temporarily transferred to the Crescent Brewery, which
was situated on the opposite side of Victoria Crescent. New Erecting Sheds were
built and opened in 1926, at that time there were still three sites in operation
- Swan Works, Lion Works and the new Crescent Works. The late 1920's and early
30's saw a change in the type of round-a-bout being manufactured. Gone were
the heavy and expensive Scenics, they were replaced by Noah's Arks, which were
easier to build, decorate, transport and more cost effective in most ways. Orton
& Spooner were leaders in the field, not only in their construction, but
they also had the formidable art design expertise of the father and son team
the A.S.Howell's. Sid Howell was responsible for most of the new design work,
he co-operated very closely with Jack Spooner in the design aspects of most
machines, even designing new rides from scratch. Not only was he able to produce
all the required art work, but being a qualified Engineering Draughtsman, he
produced 3-D drawings showing what the machine would look like when fully 'built-up'.
Orton's were capable of building virtually any fairground amusement requested
of them, the early Arks were the main feature, but their many variants soon
followed - Speedways and Waltzers to name a few.
After the end of WWII there was a gradual run-down
in the production of fairground equipment, the changing conditions, both in
the management attitudes and workforce resulted in more general engineering
work being undertaken. The last rides to be made were 'Rotordromes' which were
of a German design; the final break with fairground manufacture came in 1954.
Messrs. Geo. Orton Sons & Spooner, known
in the final years as 'GOSS' closed for business in 1977 .... the old Erecting
Sheds are still standing today, and currently occupied by other companies -
but, if it were possible, wouldn't they
make a superb and fitting Museum to house the many fairground amusements built
by Orton & Spooner that still exist in the twenty first century?
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COPYRIGHT : ASH STUDIO 2000
Other Facts. - The two firms were associated from 1894, although
they were often identified and unofficially called Orton & Spooner because
of their close working relationship - they did not legally amalgamate until
31 years later during 1925. George Orton purchased 7 acres of the Victoria Crescent
Field, Burton during 1911, on this ground the new Erecting Sheds were built
which could house one of the new machines. (It is worth noting, that A.S.Howell
II was now working for George Orton as his design artist, and part of the new
structure was purpose built to accommodate the huge rounding boards he needed
to paint for the Electric Scenic Railways.) 
