After having the Unit x Launch. We were introduced into the idea of Fairground and Belle vue. We went in groups to visit the Belle vue archive. I found it interesting being from Manchester myself and not knowing of the Belle Vue extravaganza which opened in 1836 and closed in the late 70's. I was a huge plot of land which had three tram stops due to its size it had a variety of attractions; fairground, zoo, circus, ballrooms races and many more including "freak" side shows. It attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors per year and was coined the disney land of England. When I returned home and spoke to my parents and grandparent about Belle vue I was shocked to find out how influential it had been in their lives my grandma told me of how she would go on dates with my granddad at the ballrooms and how many of her friends had met their husbands at belle vue.
I found the archive very interesting as I learnt allot about Belle vue and its history I also found it interesting as I felt I could somehow relate to it as my family had told me their stories of it and I could imagine what it would look like from the archive and stories. On wednesday Claire Turner the director of Manchester histories festival 2014 gave a lecture on Belle vue and its history in the 17th and 18th century.
The archive was at Manchester's Chethams library which was outstanding the large bookshelfs and towering stairs with thousands of books. It had tickets and leaflets from the years at belle vue. I found it interesting comparing todays fairgrounds with the historical fairground of Belle vue
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