Circus, a different view

Alternative view of Circus 250. David Konyot

With a little trepidation I put down these thoughts ,thoughts that I have had for some time about Circus in general , where it's going and why , many will not agree , it will not be an easy read but the opinions are mine and mine alone so with that disclaimer here goes .

PROLOGUE 

I come , as many others in Circus, from families that have plied the trade for many centuries , from my mother I am descended from the Blumenfeld Family in Germany whose ancestry can be traced back to the mid 17^thcentury where an Emmanuel Louis Blumenfeld 'Gaukler und Seiltanzer' 

( travelling entertainer and ropewalker ) was reported in the local Wuppertal paper to have brought 3 elephants to the town, this story was told to me by a German Circus fan Peter Brauning in 1982 while I was working for Circus Barum and I was shown a photocopy of the original article.
On my fathers side in am descended from two UK circus dynasties my Great Grandfather being Harry Fossett and my Great Grandmother Harriet Yelding .
Because of my family situation I didn't learn too much about the history of either side when I was growing up but this meeting with Herr Brauning piqued my interest and ever since I have tried to research as much as I can about my ancestors and their continuing involvement with Circus which along with over 60 years experience of practical experience has led me to this overview of Circus which I present to you now .

1. Travelling families;
   
   From Auntie Margaret Yelding (nee Fossett) and in conversations with a few others of the older generation I got a story which differed in details but remained the same in principal , The main point of the tale was that at the close of the 12^th century a mercenary army was gathered by Richard 1^st( the Lionheart ) who, following his Imprisonment Ransom and Release , had the intention of marching to England to retake the throne from his brother John . (OK enough name dropping , on with the story ) Along with the soldiers and volunteers this army was joined by Saddlers, Armourers, Grooms, Whores, Cooks,CardSharps , Bottlewashers Various Travellers and of course families of Itinerant Entertainers , one such were French and called Feldan , they stayed and the name over the years evolved into Yelding, Now I'm not saying that this story is the undeniable truth , most of it is apocryphal but the fact remains that a lot of the older ones I spoke to said that they had heard that the family had originally come from France and something about the Crusades and there was enough rumour and speculation to give decent credibility to a lot of the rest .
   
   
   What we do know is the Yeldings have been here for a long time as have the Fossetts and being in the same business they would have met and in many cases joined up to marry and/or work together, the first marriage we have actual hard evidence for is Robert Fossett and Emma Yelding some 6 generations ago but its not beyond consideration that there were some before that . There were of course other families following the same travelling path , some with Fairground type presentations , others with Acrobatic Feats , Juggling , Wire Walking , displays of Strength , Magic ,Boxing and Wrestling booths , selling Charms and Potions , Fortune Telling in fact anything that would draw a crowd and earn a little money from passing round the hat or having a closed area with a box at the entrance for admission payment . ( this was called a fit-up )They would appear at village fetes , galas, market days, some would get work in stately homes in times of celebration, Weddings, Birthdays , Births etc; and so it went for many generations until in 1778 along came Philip Astley.
   
   OK time for a couple of Mythbusters , No1, Philip Astley didn't use the word 'Circus', his first arena in waterloo was called ASTLEYS AMPHITHEATRE'Circus' was first used in modern terms by Charles Dibdin who was a famous Composer and writer of Pantomimes for the London theatres, he with Astleys competitor Charles Hughes started the ROYAL CIRCUS & PHILHARMONIC ACADEMYin 1782, 
   Mythbuster No 2 ,Astley was not the first to do trickriding in a circle , it was previously done by a rider called OLD SAMPSON who Astley trained under as an apprentice when he left the Army. Astleys riding displays took place in what he called THE RIDE orTHE CIRCLE .In 1770 he moved premises to westminster bridge where he erected covered seating and engaged jugglers, wirewalkers and a clown to fill in the spaces between his riding displays , I have no doubt that among these 'fill-ins ' there would have been a smattering of the Fossett / Yelding and other established entertainer families and so 'Modern Circus ' was born .
   CIRCUS ( a potted historical personal view )

The Circus/travelling families had survived and to some extent thrived 

for quite a few generations delivering what the public wanted to see 

because if they didn't then hunger was around the next corner , it was a 

buyers market which always promotes invention and modernisation, 

then along come Astley , Hughes , Dibdin, Ducrow and others 

followed by the erection of Amphitheatres and circus buildings all over 

Europe , now their situation underwent a huge and dramatic change. 

Those lineages and families of Acrobats, Clowns Jugglers et al had 

performed throughout the UK and Europe for centuries ,earning 

their money as independent professionals, now they were becoming 

part of an integrated entertainment for which an all inclusive ticket was 

sold with the money going to the producer/director/owner/ and the 

artists receiving a payment which they would have to negotiate . 

Along with being paid a wage they lost their independence in artistic 

choice with that being replaced by the whim and personal taste or style 

of the aforementioned producers/directors/owners the majority of whom 

were just businessmen or private people ( called Jossers in the circus 

fraternity)who saw an opportunity to make some money and started a 

Circus

(This still happens today in many shows where a director / producer or 

especially the owner with little practical knowledge of the particular art 

he is producing , especially comedy, tries to persuade the artist that 'his 

vision' takes precedence over the artists knowledge and experience , I 

know because I have had this happen many times ) . 

This system survived intact for many years with Circus performances 

taking place in theatres and specially constructed buildings ,Ducrow 

built over 100 in Russia alone , then in 1850 the first canvas tent was 

introduced and everything changed again, it spread worldwide in the 

space of a few decades The tent being more mobile was the perfect 

solution to bring Circus to the masses everywhere ,The introduction of 

scripted storylines , 'Dick Turpins Ride To York ' was a famous one in 

English Circus ,wild and exotic animals could be better displayed, 

Hippodrome tracks were laid outside the ring for huge tableaux, massive 

parades and in some cases Chariot Races imitating those in the Roman 

Colosseums. 

America had a plethora of three ring circuses which were built up and 

dismantled on a daily basis by hundreds of workers and were 

transported across the country in massive rail transport, so huge were 

the logistics of this undertaking that before WW1 the American 

Government sought advice from the Ringling Brothers Barnum and 

Bailey Circus administration on how they achieved the movement of all 

the artists , staff , animals and equipment so efficiently and quickly in 

order that they could use it as an example it for the U.S Army .

Circus throughout the world was flourishing , getting bigger and more 

audacious all the time , the 20^thcentury in the UK saw the big three of 

Billy Smarts , Chipperfields and Bertram Mills all with seating capacities 

in the thousands along with myriad other circuses touring the country 

from top to bottom, each show had it's own style, Billy Smarts , all 

Sequins Glitter and Glamour , Charity performances every autumn on 

Clapham Common in London with TV and Film stars in attendance,
Chipperfields had their Wild Animal Spectacular , Human Cannonballs , 

Somersaulting cars, Danger and Drama.

Bertram Mills Circus was class and dignity personified ,the shows 

were elegant there were two pages in full coachman dress and white 

powdered wigs just to open and close the ring for the entrance and exit 

of the animals . They were regularly visited by members of the Royal 

family each winter at the Olympia Exhibition hall . 

But slowly and surely these shows were the architects of their own 

downfall, Within a decade all three were gone , Chipperfields went to 

South Africa in the early 60's a folly from which they never recovered , 

Bertram Mills closed its doors around the same time quoting the 

competition from Television as its main reason .
Billy Smarts continued for a few more years on the success of 

their Xmas and Easter TV specials but they too succumbed to the 

inevitable.

Smaller circuses in the UK survived, some run by descendants of the 

original travelling families but they never achieved the heights or 

success of the big shows , over the following years many came and went 

until in the 21^stcentury we are left with the majority of the big circuses 

in the UK , Europe and America having closed or downsized, the fight 

to retain wild animal content all but lost and the ever increasing 

possibility of no domestic animals being allowed to perform in Circuses a 

serious threat. 

So 250 years after Astleys great dream where are we ? 

Over the next couple of decades economics will decide the fate of not 

just travelling Circus and Fairgounds but many of our cherished 

traditions , the rising price of fuel , transport, health and safety 

regulations, the price of venues, plus the added cost of the effects of 

Brexit ,whether soft or hard following which artists, drivers , much 

needed tent staff who have to be recruited from outside the UK will need 

visas and work permits all of which will add to the expenses of an 

industry which is not doing very well as it is.

Is the future bright ?

Many of the travelling families from all those centuries ago are still 

around , My own family are spread worldwide from Alaska to 

Denmark ,thank heaven for Facebook ,it has helped us document most 

of them 

There are descendants from the Fossetts, Yeldings, Paulos, Pinders, 

Ginnets and many other 'younger families (only around for 

a century or so ) still working in Circus and the entertainment

industry , This is not just in the UK but all over the world many of the 

old families have survived and carried on , the exception was Russia 

where nearly all the circus families perished during the communist 

regime of the first half of the 20^thcentury 

Could they go back to the old ways of working once the Big Top has 

completed it's final 'Pull Down' ? Over recent years the Festival 

Circuit has grown hugely in the UK and throughout Europe, from two 

of the biggest, Glastonbury in the UK and the Sziget Festival in 

Budapest there are literally hundreds of them throughout Europe ,they 

are filled with performers who have never seen the inside of a Big 

Top, there is an upsurge in the number of small circus companies 

comprised of just a few artists who regularly appear at these festival 

along with touring local theatres and small concert halls ,many of them 

are the product of the plethora of Circus Schools that have opened in 

recent years, these small groups carry no other equipment than their 

props and costumes, they have minimum admin so their costs and 

expenses are low and the money is shared . 

Festivals also proved work for face-painters , fortune tellers, wall of 

death riders, small fairground rides and sideshows , flea circuses , plus

music ,dance, food and fun .It seems were going back to the days of the 

independent professionals.
The traditional families have survived in one way or another for nearly a 

millennia , a hardy and persistent community they have proven that they 

have the ability to adapt to any situation in WW1 many dispatches 

from the front to the War Office in London asked for more recruits 

from the 'circus and fairground community ' “ because in a crisis these 

guys know exactly what to do and can turn their hands to anything” .
One soldier in WW1 won the Victoria Cross, the Croix De Guerre 

and the highest military honour Russia could bestow ,

He was a British Showman 

Without all the peripheral nonsense, as long as someone wants to juggle , do a handstand , throw a somersault or fall over to get a laugh the Circus Arts will survive and flourish , If the old families die out new ones will take over and start their own dynasties and Circus will survive , 

Because it always has.