Lord George Sanger Circus (Established c1880)
Dates
- Existence: Established c1880
Biography
Lord George Sanger Circus was founded by George Sanger after disolving his business partnership with his brother John Sanger.
George and John were the founders of the Sanger Allied Circus in 1854, which they operated with a few family members and friends. The business grew from strength to strength and by 1858 Sanger’s circus could boast of presenting the largest stud of horses ever seen in the European continent. By the 1860s the Sanger emporium owned ten permanent circuses between Plymouth and Aberdeen.
The Sanger brother’s acquired two of the most famous and reputable circus venues in London; the Royal Agricultural Hall at Islington in 1870 and Astley’s New Royal Amphitheatre in 1871.
George and John eventually decided to go their separate ways and split their various business ventures amicably.
During his career as a circus proprietor George Sanger presented two Royal performances before Queen Victoria, the first at Sandringham on 8 January 1885 and the second at Balmoral Castle on 17 June 1898.
George Sanger was a respected member of the showland community and although he spent most of his later life in the circus, he maintained a strong link to his fairground roots and was elected the first President of the Showmen's Guild of Great Britain in 1890, a post he held until 1909.
George Sanger was murdered on 28 November 1911, at Park Farm by one of his employees for unknown reasons. His circus and effects were auctioned off by showman Tom Norman aka ‘The Silver King’.
Found in 21 Collections and/or Records:
Barr Brothers Performing on a Motorbike Photograph, c1920 - 1939
Photograph of two male acrobats, one sat on the bike and the other doing a handstand on his hands in the open air. The motorbike has a flag on the handle bars marked 'Bros Barr'. The Brothers Barr were Thomas and Charles Barr, originally miners, of Lochgelly, Fifeshire. They were also later billed as the Aberdonians. The brothers are performing in front of a lorry marked Moxon's Circus.
Brothers Barr Performing on a Motorbike Photograph , c1920 - 1929
Photograph of a man lying down on a motorbike seat with his legs extended upwards holding another man on his feet. The motorbike has a flag on the handle bars marked 'Bros Barr'. The Brothers Barr were Thomas and Charles Barr, originally miners, of Lochgelly, Fifeshire. They were also later billed as the Aberdonians. The brothers are performing in front of a lorry marked Moxon's Circus.
Circus Friends Association Collection
This collection consists of a large library of books and journals, as well as archival material including posters, programmes, photographs, films, handbills, research material, scrapbooks, original artwork and many other items of ephemera relating to British, Irish and European circuses
Cyril Critchlow Collection
Early Circus Programmes, c1800 - 1999
Early British circus and variety programmes including Astley's, Batty's and Lord George Sanger's circus.
Films, c1930 - 1990
Amateur and commercial films on multiple formats, focusing mainly on Circus but also including transport, fairs, fairground rides and other types of travelling entertainments.
Handbills, c1786 - 1968
Handbills for travelling shows, fairs, exhibitions and performances in London.
John Bramwell Taylor Collection
John F. C. Heather Collection
Black and white photographs related to Joseph Charles Heather, the Sanger Circus and the Bostock Jungle.
Noel Drewe Collection
A large collection of films entitled Circusama containing amateur and professional films on the themes of circus, performing animals and zoos, and edited clips from commercial Western and comedy films. The films are in a variety of formats including 8mm, Super8, 9.5mm and 16mm and contain related correspondence and notes. This collection also contains some sound reels mainly of fairground music.
Photographs, c1897 - 1898
Posters, c1800 - 2011
A wide range of British and international circus and menagerie posters ranging from the 19th to the 21st century including Astley's Amphitheatre, Pablo Fanque, Polito, Bostock and Wombwell, Ducrow, Cooke, Hengler, Sanger, Smart, Gerry Cottle, Bertram Mills, Chipperfield's, Robert Brothers, Fossett, Blackpool Tower, Billy Russell, Belle Vue, Great Yarmouth Hippodrome, Austen Brothers and many more.
Programmes, c1800 - 2019
A collection of mainly British and international circus programmes and some variety and music hall programmes containing circus acts.
Programmes for Circus, Magic and Variety Shows, c1890 - 1999
Circus, magic and variety show programmes including the Great Ohmy Circus, John Sanger Circus, Bertram Mills Circus and variety shows at various locations in Blackpool, London, Manchester and other theatres in England. Some of the variety performers showcased are Morecambe and Wise, Hetty King, Mae West, Bob Hope, Shirley Bassey, Larry Lamb and Cliff Richards.
Reverse of Sanger Circus Performers Photograph, c1850 - 1910
Reverse of 178C114.173 showing performers' names inscrived by hand including; Claude Randall, Sam Hodgini, Georgina Coleman, Harry Hodgini, Dan Feeley, Kate Feeley, William Feeley, L. Feeley, Arthur Reeve, Clara Feeley, August la Place (Feeley, Dankey/O, George Coleman, Topsy Coleman, Little Claude Randall (Freddie Randall), Mr Philpott, Joe Cranston (Hodgini) and George Holloway.
Sanger Circus Performers Photograph , c1850 - 1910
Sanger Circus Programmes, c1894 - 1999
Sanger Circus programmes including Lord George Sanger's Circus, Lord George Sanger and Pops Sanger Circus, Lord John Sanger's Circus and Sanger's Circus. Contain pantomime acts as well as circus performances in theatres venues.
Sanger Circus Troupe Photograph , c1880 - 1889
Sangers Circus Performers Photograph, c1890 - 1899
Photograph of equestrian and acrobat performers. The male figure on the horse is Harry Austin. The female, far right, is believed to be Yetta Schultz. The two other women are believed to be either Henrietta, Florence or Lydia who were listed as performers on the 'Corde Elastique' during this time. The photograph is believed to have been taken at Balmoral on the Royal Estate in Scotland in 1898.
Troupe of Acrobats with Clown Photograph, c1880 - 1899
Studio photograph of an acrobatic troupe consisting of a man wand two boys, and a clown.