Talbot Street

From 1981, guests could step back in time to the world of the Victorians by taking a stroll down Talbot Street, the park’s very own Dickensian Boulevard.

Floating out over the area, the atmosphere was enhanced by a repertoire of traditional organ music piped from a fairground organ installed beneath the ruins of the Towers alongside the Space 1999 exhibition.

Talbot Street was built on the former site of the Towers’ fairground, which had closed the previous year. The Street was built between the Penny Arcade and the former Funhouse, which was transformed for the new area into a theatre housing the Fantastic Fountains. Between these were built Maison Talbot, The Dolls House exhibition and the Talbot Tea Shoppe.

Opposite this row of buildings, on the far side of the street, a slightly less traditional addition of a giant vertical Snakes & Ladders board sat in the midst of a small open air arena. This was mainly used for the filming of Hold Tight, a children’s TV gameshow that was set at the Towers between 1982 and 1987.

Neighbouring the Talbot Restaurant, which had been converted into a fastfood outlet, a new plaza was created by building opposite another block, which housed two new dark rides, Around the World in 80 Days and Doom and Sons, as well as an Ice Cream Bakery, a Sepia Photo Studio and the 80s Days store. Nearby a separate structure housed Talbot Street Toyland.

In 1982 the area at the end of Talbot Street between the Theatre and Around the World became home to Adventureland 4-11, full of new rides for the youngest members of the family. The area’s expansion continued in 1985, when the 4 Man Bob was added starting the expansion towards the historic Flag Tower at the end of the street.

There was another significant expansion in 1987 at the other end of the area, when the Hold Tight arena disappeared under a brand new building housing the Motor Museum and Raven’s Den shop. These additions completed the street scene of the area by adding a row of buildings to mirror the existing shop fronts.

The expansion towards the Flag Towers continued in 1988 with the arrival of the Alton Beast and Alton Mouse, which operated alongside the 4 Man Bob, cementing the area’s nickname of Coaster Corner. With these additions Talbot Street reached its greatest extent and certainly its busiest, offering attractions for all generations of the family.

1991 saw the Tri-Star arrive in place of the 4 Man Bob, which was by now a very old coaster, which even still used manual brakes. As The Gallopers arrived at one end of the street, near Doom and Sons at the far end, the Space 1999 exhibition closed. But these changes were just a preamble for the changes that would soon follow for the area.

Talbot Street opened for its final season in 1992 with a much changed line up. Coaster Corner had now been abandoned to relieve noise issues that the attractions in this area were causing to local residents. The Beast had moved to Thunder Valley and the Tri-Star to Festival Park, whilst the Alton Mouse had been removed all together.

Adventureland 4-11 had also been disbanded with the closure of some of its rides, but the remainder became part of Talbot Street before mostly being removed at the end of 1992. Elsewhere on the street, Bertie Bassett moved into his corner shop alongside the Motor Museum and the Octopus arrived from Aqualand.

This was to be the final season for Talbot Street, or the land of abandoned rides as it had seemingly become. The end of the area also meant the closure of an impressive number of its attractions, including Doom and Sons, the Fantastic Fountains, Octopus, Motor Museum, Wildlife Museum, Astroglide, Fun Centre and Adventure Railway.

The remaining attractions would become part of the Land of Make Believe for the following season.