Sangers Circus
- fiona flint books
- May 9
- 3 min read
In 1858, Sangers Circus had the largest stud of horses ever seen in Europe, visiting 200 towns in a nine month long season, performing two shows a day.
During the 1860s and 70s, the Sanger brothers acquired permanent sites including the Royal Agricultural Hall, Islington and Astley’s New Royal Amphitheatre in London, and, in 1874, they took a travelling circus including 160 horses, 11 elephants, a dozen camels and 330 staff to the Continent.
The Sangers' travelling road train stretched several miles with wagons to carry tent and seating, living carriages, wardrobe and dressing wagons, animal wagons, a band carriage, a portable blacksmith's forge and six great tableau parade cars.
In 1891, when my great grandmother was a 16 year-old domestic servant in Margate, her brother Charles was travelling with Sangers Circus as a carpenter. He and another young carpenter recruited at Margate are listed at Birkenhead along with the Assistant Circus Manager, Property Master, Lampman, Wardrobe Manageress and another workman 'all living in tents and caravans belonging to Sangers circus'. Then the Census return contains the following note ...
"Further information could not be obtained, the Enumerator spent several hours attempting to get it. 80 or about was the number mentioned by informers (Manager, Head Groom & Others) They consist of Tentmen, Grooms etc"
Hall by the Sea, Margate
In 1870, the Sanger brothers went into partnership with the Mayor of Margate to run a restaurant and dance hall at an unused railway station, 'Hall-By-The-Sea'.
In 1875 George Sanger became sole proprietor and created pleasure gardens with a menagerie, lake, rides, skating and sideshows alongside the dance hall as well as a ‘ruined abbey’ folly. The menagerie was somewhere he could breed and train the animals from his travelling circus...
"At the Zoological Gardens I had established at Margate I had twelve full-grown wolves, all bred at the Hall-by-the-Sea from old animals that had passed away with age and infirmity, and all as tame as dogs. Still they were wolves, the genuine article, and could be trusted to act as such upon occasion."
Sanger's Amphitheatre, Ramsgate
George Sanger also bought derelict land in the centre of Ramsgate. He pitched his circus there for a time and then built a handsome block of buildings.
His Amphitheatre had a main entrance in the High Street which was 11ft wide with swing doors. It could seat 1,600 people. There was a picture of George Sanger himself on the drop curtain. It offered variety entertainment including acrobats and clowns but was also used for opera and drama. There was a restaurant, too.
A newspaper advert for Sangers Amphitheatre, Ramsgate from Wednesday November 20th, 1901 lists times and ticket prices as well as the late trains and trams available locally after the show. It mentions my great grandfather by name...
"Mr W. J. Spain's omnibus leaves the theatre for Sandwich on Thursday evening after the performance"
He and my great grandmother had the Three Colts PH in Sandwich at the time - they are listed on the census that year with an omnibus driver and groom and there is a photo in which you can just make out his name painted over the name of the pub...
George Sanger wrote an account of his life 'Seventy Years a Showman' in 1910, during his retirement. It makes fascinating reading...
"he was not so much a man as an institution"
This is the first of two posts about links between the Sangers and my Thanet ancestors.
Links to collections of photographs of Sangers Circus ...
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