Dates

• Existence: 1882 - 2015

Biography

Boswell’s Circus was the most successful and celebrated circus in South Africa at the beginning of the twentieth century.

The Boswell Circus originate with James Boswell, a West Yorkshire clown, equilibrist and animal trainer born on 4 January 1826. By the time James was seventeen years old he was performing at Astley’s Amphitheatre, one of the best regarded circus venues in England.

James married Rebecca Cooke, from the famous Cooke circus dynasty and they had three children, James Clements aka J.C., Harry and Ellen Clara aka Nellie. All of them trained as equestrians and joined the circus when they were old enough, working with some of the most prestigious companies in Britain and regularly touring around the UK and Europe.

The Boswells established their own circus in 1882 in Lynn Street, West Hartlepool. They divided their appearances between the permanent buildings in the winter season and the travelling shows in the summer, which they took to cities and towns around Yorkshire and Lancashire. During the following decade, the business expanded and in 1890 they opened their second permanent circus building in Oxford. They also created their own programme of stage performances, specially designed for music halls and theatres called Boswell’s Stage Circus, which they travelled throughout the United Kingdom.

Boswell Circus first adventured into South Africa in 1911 for a tour of eight months. The Boswell circus by this time was under the management of James Clement Boswell, who saw great potential for the family business to flourish in the new continent and decided to set roots. The Boswells established their first circus in South Africa in 1913 called Boswell’s Royal Hippodrome and Circus Company, later to be known as Boswell Brothers Circus and Menagerie and finally Boswell’s Circus.

Defying the apartheid laws, Boswell Circus created one of the first shows to allow racially mixed audiences in South Africa and offer entertainment on Sundays. Boswell’s Circus prospered and expanded over the years surviving both world wars and the great depression.

In 1954 a new circus arrived from England led by Wilma and Walter Wilkie, W.H. Wilkie’s Great Continental Circus. Boswell’s started to feel the competition and by 1963 the entirety of the business had been sold to The African Consolidated Theatres company who had been acquiring shares over the years. The African Consolidated Theatres reached an agreement with Wilkie to amalgamate both circuses into Boswell and Willkie Circus.

Boswell and Wilkie operated during the second half of the twentieth century touring around Africa and the UK with increasingly declining success. They stopped travelling in 2001 but continued to operate for corporate and private functions until 2015 when the business folded permanently.

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