Steve Ward explores the history of the big top and the people who worked there

music halls drew audiences away from the circus and many performers also switched to performing on stage. If you know the name of your performing ancestor and believe that they may have worked the halls, then the British Music Hall Society website would be a good place to start your research ( britishmusichallsociety.com). The early cinema and growing popularity of sporting events also had an effect upon the circus. But it was the events of the First World War that hit the circus really hard. Not only did it take the men away but it also took the horses, both as cavalry mounts or as draft animals. A high ranking officer was recorded as saying that the best cavalry mount was a circus-trained horse, as it knew how to respond to commands. During this time many smaller circuses closed.

Circuses in decline

The period between the wars was a fallow time for the circus. Although Bertram Mills had opened his circus in the early 1920s it was not until the 1930s that he became really popular with his yearly shows in London’s Olympia. By the end of the Second World War, the circus was on the rise again. The Chipperfields had survived and Billy Smart opened his circus in the mid-1940s. Now the industry was to be dominated by these three giants and continued to be so until the 1970s, when social attitudes caused another dip in popularity.

But the circus is growing in popularity once more; people are returning to the circus. The Circus Diaries website ( thecircusdiaries.com) lists 73 various circus-based companies in the UK. Add to this the permanent circus venues at Blackpool and Great Yarmouth; the National Centre for Circus Arts and other circus training schools; Community Circuses and the many Youth Circus Groups around the country, we are witnessing a resurgent interest in the circus. The circus has survived for 250 years!