Astley's Amphitheatre - Revision history

Djando: /* The World's First Circus */

2025-11-09T01:53:41Z

‎The World's First Circus

Djando: /* The World's First Circus */

2025-11-06T06:54:24Z

‎The World's First Circus

Djando at 06:53, 6 November 2025

2025-11-06T06:53:08Z

Djando at 00:09, 6 November 2025

2025-11-06T00:09:42Z

Djando: /* The World's First Circus */

2025-11-05T07:22:39Z

‎The World's First Circus

Djando at 07:20, 5 November 2025

2025-11-05T07:20:17Z

Djando at 07:18, 5 November 2025

2025-11-05T07:18:44Z

Djando at 07:18, 5 November 2025

2025-11-05T07:18:07Z

Djando at 05:44, 5 November 2025

2025-11-05T05:44:45Z

Djando: /* The World's First Circus */

2025-11-05T01:29:13Z

‎The World's First Circus

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 Astley's Amphitheatre, located on Westminster Road in Lambeth, London, was opened in 1768 by [[Philip Astley]] (1742-1814), the creator of modern circus. It was the very first ''circus''&mdash;although it never held that name, which was coined by Astley's first competitors, [[Charles Hughes]] (1747–1797) and [[Charles Dibdin]] (1745-1814), who opened their ''[[Royal Circus]]''&mdash;the first circus by that name&mdash;on November 4, 1782, on Blackfriars Road, near the junction of the thoroughfares leading to Westminster, Blackfriars and London bridges, known today as St. George’s Circus.
-Astley's Amphitheatre, which was originally an open-air arena, was a London's landmark for 125 years, from 1768 through 1893; it was rebuilt several times (and was destroyed by fire three times, in 1794, 1801, and 1825). Over the years, it also changed its name and its owners, starting with ''Astley's Riding School'' (1768-1780), then ''Astley's Riding House'' (1780-1782), ''Astley's Amphitheatre'' (1782-1790), ''The Royal Grove'' (1791-1794), and ''Astley's Amphitheatre of Arts'' (1795-1801), during which years it was owned and managed by Philip Astley; then it became the ''Royal Amphitheatre of Arts'' (1795-1801), still under Philip Astley until 1814, then under his son, [[John Astley]] (1767-1821).
+Astley's Amphitheatre, which was originally an open-air arena, was a London's landmark for 125 years, from 1768 through 1893; it was rebuilt several times (and was destroyed by fire three times, in 1794, 1801, and 1825). Over the years, it also changed its name and its owners, starting with ''Astley's Riding School'' (1768-1780), then ''Astley's Riding House'' (1780-1782), ''Astley's Amphitheatre'' (1782-1790), ''The Royal Grove'' (1791-1794), and ''Astley's Amphitheatre of Arts'' (1795-1801), during which years it was owned and managed by Philip Astley; then it became the ''Royal Amphitheatre of Arts'' (1801-1814), still under Philip Astley, then, starting in 1815, under his son, [[John Astley]] (1767-1821).
 Upon John Astley's death in 1821, it passed under the ownership of the equestrian [[William Davis]] under the title ''Davis' Royal Amphitheatre'', which it kept from 1821 to 1825. Then Davis leased it to the star equestrian [[Andrew Ducrow]] (1793-1842), who renamed it ''Royal Amphitheatre'' (1825-1841); by then, the circus was simply called "Astley's" by its audiences. Nonetheless, after the 1825 fire and the subsequent death of Ducrow, it became ''Batty's Amphitheatre'' under the management of a new owner, William Batty (1801-1868), who managed it from 1842 to 1862. It resumed its true identity (''Astley's Amphitheatre'') when Batty leased it for seven years, from 1853 to 1860 to the Scottish circus entrepreneur [[The Cooke Dynasty|William Cooke]] (1851-1905), who had difficulties keeping the circus afloat. Eventually, Cooke regained enough control on his finances to remain there until 1862.

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 Upon John Astley's death in 1821, it passed under the ownership of the equestrian [[William Davis]] under the title ''Davis' Royal Amphitheatre'', which it kept from 1821 to 1825. Then Davis leased it to the star equestrian [[Andrew Ducrow]] (1793-1842), who renamed it ''Royal Amphitheatre'' (1825-1841); by then, the circus was simply called "Astley's" by its audiences. Nonetheless, after the 1825 fire and the subsequent death of Ducrow, it became ''Batty's Amphitheatre'' under the management of a new owner, William Batty (1801-1868), who managed it from 1842 to 1862. It resumed its true identity (''Astley's Amphitheatre'') when Batty leased it for seven years, from 1853 to 1860 to the Scottish circus entrepreneur [[The Cooke Dynasty|William Cooke]] (1851-1905), who had difficulties keeping the circus afloat. Eventually, Cooke regained enough control on his finances to remain there until 1862.
-In 1863-1864, it became the ''New Westminster Theatre'' when it was leased to the Irish playwright Dion Boucicault (1820-1890), who boarded the ring floor to install stalls. This experience proved a disaster, and in 1864, the British impresario Edward Tyrrell Smith (1804–1877) took over and revived ''Astley's Amphitheatre'' with the American sensation [[Adah Isaacs Menken]] (1835-1868) in a reprise of her greatest (and only) success, the hippodrama ''Mazeppa''. Smith remained the lessee from 1864 to 1873, alternating hippodramas and Bristish pantomimes ("pantos"). Finally, in 1873, Batty's widow sold the circus to the legendary circus director [["Lord" George Sanger]] (1825-1911), who ran it as a bona fide circus until 1893, when, sadly, the world's first circus was demolished.
+In 1863-1864, it became the ''New Westminster Theatre'' when it was leased to the Irish playwright Dion Boucicault (1820-1890), who boarded the ring floor to install stalls. This experience proved a disaster, and in 1864, the British impresario Edward Tyrrell Smith (1804–1877) took over and revived ''Astley's Amphitheatre'' with the American sensation [[Adah Isaacs Menken]] (1835-1868) in a reprise of her greatest (and only) success, the hippodrama ''Mazeppa''. Smith remained the lessee from 1864 to 1873, alternating hippodramas and Bristish pantomimes ("pantos"). Finally, in 1873, Batty's widow sold the circus to the legendary circus director [["Lord" George Sanger]] (1825-1911), who ran it as a bona fide circus until 1893&mdash;when, sadly, the world's first circus was demolished.
 ('''NOTE: ''This is a preliminary article, which will be expanded in the future''''')

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:53, 6 November 2025
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		+	[[File:Astley_ampitheatre_1807_2.jpg\|right\|400px]]
	==The World's First Circus==		==The World's First Circus==

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 File:Astley%27s_in_Punch_(1850).jpg|A performance at Astley's Amphitheatre in 1850
 File:Astleys_Theatre.jpg|Astley's Amphitheatre (c.1850)
 File:Astley's_Amphitheatre_-_Shepherd.png|Astley's Royal Amphitheatre (1855)
 File:Astley%27s_Royal_Amphitheatre_(c1850).jpeg|The hippodrama ''Richard III'' at Astley's Amphitheatre in 1856

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 Upon John Astley's death in 1821, it passed under the ownership of the equestrian [[William Davis]] under the title ''Davis' Royal Amphitheatre'', which it kept from 1821 to 1825. Then Davis leased it to the star equestrian [[Andrew Ducrow]] (1793-1842), who renamed it ''Royal Amphitheatre'' (1825-1841); by then, the circus was simply called "Astley's" by its audiences. Nonetheless, after the 1825 fire and the subsequent death of Ducrow, it became ''Batty's Amphitheatre'' under the management of a new owner, William Batty (1801-1868), who managed it from 1842 to 1862. It resumed its true identity (''Astley's Amphitheatre'') when Batty leased it for seven years, from 1853 to 1860 to the Scottish circus entrepreneur [[The Cooke Dynasty|William Cooke]] (1851-1905), who had difficulties keeping the circus afloat. Eventually, Cooke regained enough control on his finances to remain there until 1862.
-In 1863-1864, it became the ''New Westminster Theatre'' when it was leased to the Irish playwright Dion Boucicault (1820-1890), who boarded the ring floor to install stalls. This experience proved a disaster, and in 1864, the British impresario Edward Tyrrell Smith (1804–1877) took over and revived ''Astley's Amphitheatre'' with the American sensation [[Adah Isaacs Menken]] (1835-1868) in a reprise of her greatest (and only) success, the hippodrama ''Mazeppa''. Smith remained the lessee from 1864 to 1873, alternating hippodramas and Bristish pantomimes (pantos). Finally, in 1873, Batty's widow sold the circus to the legendary circus director [["Lord" George Sanger]] (1825-1911), who ran it as a bona fide circus until 1893, when, sadly, the world's first circus was demolished.
+In 1863-1864, it became the ''New Westminster Theatre'' when it was leased to the Irish playwright Dion Boucicault (1820-1890), who boarded the ring floor to install stalls. This experience proved a disaster, and in 1864, the British impresario Edward Tyrrell Smith (1804–1877) took over and revived ''Astley's Amphitheatre'' with the American sensation [[Adah Isaacs Menken]] (1835-1868) in a reprise of her greatest (and only) success, the hippodrama ''Mazeppa''. Smith remained the lessee from 1864 to 1873, alternating hippodramas and Bristish pantomimes ("pantos"). Finally, in 1873, Batty's widow sold the circus to the legendary circus director [["Lord" George Sanger]] (1825-1911), who ran it as a bona fide circus until 1893, when, sadly, the world's first circus was demolished.
 ('''NOTE: ''This is a preliminary article, which will be expanded in the future''''')

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ==The World's First Circus==
-Astley's Amphitheatre, located on Westminster Road in Lambeth, London, was opened in 1768 by [[Philip Astley]] (1742-1814), the creator of modern circus. It was the very first ''circus''&mdash;although it never held that name, which was coined by Astley's first competitors, [[Charles Hughes]] (1747–1797) and [[Charles Dibdin]] (1745-1814), who opened their ''[[Royal Circus]]''&mdash;the first circus by that name&mdash;on 4 November 1782, on Blackfriars Road, near the junction of the thoroughfares leading to Westminster, Blackfriars and London bridges, known today as St. George’s Circus.
+Astley's Amphitheatre, located on Westminster Road in Lambeth, London, was opened in 1768 by [[Philip Astley]] (1742-1814), the creator of modern circus. It was the very first ''circus''&mdash;although it never held that name, which was coined by Astley's first competitors, [[Charles Hughes]] (1747–1797) and [[Charles Dibdin]] (1745-1814), who opened their ''[[Royal Circus]]''&mdash;the first circus by that name&mdash;on November 4, 1782, on Blackfriars Road, near the junction of the thoroughfares leading to Westminster, Blackfriars and London bridges, known today as St. George’s Circus.
 Astley's Amphitheatre, which was originally an open-air arena, was a London's landmark for 125 years, from 1768 through 1893; it was rebuilt several times (and was destroyed by fire three times, in 1794, 1801, and 1825). Over the years, it also changed its name and its owners, starting with ''Astley's Riding School'' (1768-1780), then ''Astley's Riding House'' (1780-1782), ''Astley's Amphitheatre'' (1782-1790), ''The Royal Grove'' (1791-1794), and ''Astley's Amphitheatre of Arts'' (1795-1801), during which years it was owned and managed by Philip Astley; then it became the ''Royal Amphitheatre of Arts'' (1795-1801), still under Philip Astley, until 1814, then under his son, [[John Astley]] (1767-1821).

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:44, 5 November 2025
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	* Biographies: [[Philip Astley]], [[John Astley]], [[Andrew Ducrow]], [[William Batty]], [["Lord" George Sanger]]		* Biographies: [[Philip Astley]], [[John Astley]], [[Andrew Ducrow]], [[William Batty]], [["Lord" George Sanger]]
−
−	~~==Suggested Reading==~~
−
−	* Maurice Willson Disher, ''Greatest Show On Earth'' (London, G. Bell and Sons, Ltd., 1937)

	==Image Gallery==		==Image Gallery==

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 In 1863-1864, it became the ''New Westminster Theatre'' when it was leased to the Irish playwright Dion Boucicault (1820-1890), who boarded the ring floor to install stalls. This experience proved a disaster, and in 1864, the British impresario Edward Tyrrell Smith (1804–1877) took over and revived ''Astley's Amphitheatre'' with the American sensation [[Adah Isaacs Menken]] (1835-1868) in a reprise of her greatest (and only) success, the hippodrama ''Mazeppa''. Smith remained the lessee from 1864 to 1873, alternating hippodramas and Bristish pantomimes (pantos). Finally, in 1873, Batty's widow sold the circus to the legendary circus director [["Lord" George Sanger]] (1825-1911), who ran it as a bona fide circus until 1893, when, sadly, the world's first circus was demolished.
-('''NOTE''' ''This is a preliminary article, which will be expanded in the future'')
+('''NOTE: ''This is a preliminary article, which will be expanded in the future''''')
 ==Suggested Reading==