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 10 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
Female Equestrian and Ringmaster Photograph, c1920 - 1939
Photograph of female equestrian seated on a pony next to a circus ringmaster standing in front of a tent.
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.
Lord George Sanger's Circus Programme, 1935
Black and orange illustrations of ringmaster, roaring lion, female equestrian act and performing dog on blue background on the front cover, inside programme and after performance show on back cover. Printed by Stafford and Co., Ltd., Printers, Netherfield, Nottingham, 2p.p.
Lord George Sanger's Circus Programme, 1937
Black and orange illustrations of ringmaster, roaring lion, female equestrian act and performing dog on blue background on the front cover, inside programme and Circus Fans' Association information on back cover. Printed by Stafford and Co., Ltd., Printers, Netherfield, Nottingham, 2p.p.
Lord George Sanger's Circus Programme, 1938
Black and orange illustrations of ringmaster, roaring lion, female equestrian act and performing dog on blue background on the front cover, inside programme and Circus Fans' Association information on back cover. Printed by Stafford and Co., Ltd., Printers, Netherfield, Nottingham, 2p.p.
Lord George Sanger's Circus Programme, c1939 - 1945
Black and orange illustrations of ringmaster, roaring lion, female equestrian act and performing dog on blue background on the front cover, inside programme and Circus Fans' Association information on back cover. Printed by Stafford and Co., Ltd., Printers, Netherfield, Nottingham, 2p.p.
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, c1800 - 2019
A collection of mainly British and international circus programmes and some variety and music hall programmes containing circus acts.
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.