|
The Shuttleworth Collection
About The Collection
Both ‘Lord John Sanger and Son’s Royal Circus’ and
‘Lord George Sanger’s circus visited Ilkley several times
in late Victorian and Edwardian times as the newspaper advertisements
below testify. The majority of Shuttleworth’s circus photographs,
however, date from George Sanger’s circus visit in 1889.
John Sanger and his younger brother George had toured the country with
a circus show since 1853. These earlier entertainments consisted of a
horse and pony and three or four human performers. As the Sanger family
grew, the young Sangers trained in horse riding tricks. Over the course
of the next 20 years the circus went from strength to strength to become
one of the most successful travelling circuses of its day and each brother
began to produce his own show. John travelled Britain with his own circus
while George toured the continent as well as England. John Sanger died
in 1889 while touring; his business was continued by his son.
By 1889 when the majority of the Ilkley circus photographs were taken,
George Sanger had introduced lions, elephants and other exotic animals
into the touring circus. Sanger’s wife Ellen, alias Madame Pauline
de Vere, was known as ‘The Lady of the Lions’, performing
serpent dances in the lions' cage.
Lord George Sanger’s circus was advertised in Ilkley as “the
largest Exhibition that ever moved upon the face of the earth”.
When the circus came to town there was a grand costumed procession to
announce their arrival and advertise the show. The Shuttleworth collection
includes a series of images depicting the progress of the procession.
The cavalcade arrived at Ilkley in the morning from Skipton, along Skipton
Road, down Bridge Lane, Church Street and Brook Street. The photographs
capture the various colourful characters and animals - the lions in their
cage, horses and donkeys, bicyclists and clowns.
The centrepiece of the procession was the Britannia carriage of carved
and gilded woodwork pulled by six cream horses in ‘state’
harness. On occasion, Sanger’s wife would ride on the top dressed
as Britannia wearing a Greek helmet, holding a shield and trident, with
a lion and a lamb at her feet. Unfortunately in Ilkley, the carriage got
stuck under the recently erected railway bridge on Brook Street (built
in 1888), a spectacle captured on camera by Shuttleworth. The railway
bridge provided a shelter for the fortune tellers - fortunes were told
for one penny.
Lord George Sanger’s circus was advertised at Yew Croft, off Chapel
Lane. On earlier visits, Lord John’s circus erected a large tent
at Wood Rhydding in Skipton Road. There are some views of the circus caravans
on the Holmes Ground and of the horses drinking and bathing in the River
Wharfe. The animals were available for inspection during the day and children
were given half a day’s holiday from school. The evening performances
attracted large crowds. In 1889 the Ilkley Gazette reads: “at the
evening performance there would be an audience of at least 3,500.”
Advertisement from The
Ilkley Gazette 11th April 1891 (pdf format, opens in new window)
Advertisement from
The Ilkley Gazette 13th May 1893 (pdf format, opens in new window)
Advertisement from
The Ilkley Gazette 28th April 1894 (pdf format, opens in new window)
Review of the show
from The Ilkley Gazette 5th May 1894 (pdf format, opens in new window)
|