The history of
Cain’s Amusements.
A real family business.
The Cain Family originally operated fairground rides and supplied prizes to the Fairground showmen for their stalls operating from their fairground depot in High Street, Deptford.
Their sons however, chose different careers. Frank becoming an accountant and Bill on leaving the Navy became a highly valued estimator, working for Halls of Dartford.
Thereby hangs a tale, because by a stroke of fate, Robert Bailey of Dartford was asked by the Cain’s to take his Fairground rides into Deptford for the winter months and that is when Bill Cain met his future wife Frances Bailey.
Once married, as the Bailey and Forrest Family Fair travelled throughout Kent, Bill carried on with his job at Halls while running a Bingo and small stalls on the Fair.
Eventually, as the family came along, a son David, daughters Francesca and Rosanne, Bill then left Halls and concentrated on the Amusement Business.
When the opportunity arose to settle in one place with the Bingo, Bill and Frances took a chance and settled at Leysdown-on-Sea where their warm and friendly approach become an asset in the Bingo, a very successful venture and gave young David a chance of some regular schooling.
The next chapter in the Cain family history leads to when they opened an arcade and Bingo in a very prime position in the town square in Dover, in partnership with Bill’s brother-in-laws who still travelled with the family Fair whilst Bill and his family settled in a maisonette in Dolphin Square, facing the arcade.
Francesca and Rosanne finished their schooling at Brampton Downs in Folkestone, though later Rosanne was to obtain her degrees at Canterbury University. David, meanwhile, displaying his entreprenual leanings, opened a Sandwich Bar, gaining valuable experience for the future.
After many happy and successful years building a very strong business, unfortunately, town improvements required their premises, so they were forced to sell.
Bill and Frances’s next move was to Herne Bay, where they went from strength to strength, loving the town and the people.
As time passed, Cain’s Amusements has continued to operate as a family run business, providing traditional seaside entertainment for all, at locations all over Kent.
David Cain on his Bingo Stall at Forrest Fair, Pencester Gardens, Dover in early 80s
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Learn more about the history of Cain's Amusements and the rich history of Amusement arcades through the years.
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Deptford Show Ground: The last permanent fairground in London
by Angela Catherine Cain
Travelling cinema, wild beast shows, circus acts, boxing booths, exotic side shows - they were all to be found at the Deptford Show Ground on Deptford High Street before the First World War. My book follows the fortunes of my great grandfather Charles Cain, a travelling showman, his wife Hannah and family who were on the Show Ground from 1890 with their 'games' and also selling fairground prizes.
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Arcade Britannia: A Social History of the British Amusement Arcade
by Alan Meades
The story of the British amusement arcade from the 1800s to the present. Amusement arcades are an important part of British culture, yet discussions of them tend to be based on American models. Alan Meades, who spent his childhood happily playing in British seaside arcades, presents the history of the arcade from its origins in traveling fairs of the 1800s to the present.
The George Wilson Collection.
George Wilson, an early graduate of Newport, spent two seasons in the early 1980s as a bingo caller in Cain’s Amusements. Whilst there he documented the often hidden activities, cultures and communities in this typical British arcade. George’s extraordinary collection is currently informing researchers into hitherto overlooked arcade cultures.
