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 9 Collections and/or Records:
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
Correspondence, c1900 - 2008
Items of personal correspondence and correspondence related to the Sanger and Ohmy families.
Cyril Critchlow Collection
Exhibition and Entertainments Handbills, c1790 - 1939
Handbills for travelling shows, fairs, exhibitions and performances at a wide range of venues.
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
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.
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.