Philip Astley
Encyclopedia
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
industry, as a presenter of an integrated entertainment experience that includes music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, domesticated animals, acrobat
Acrobat
Acrobat may refer to:* Acrobat, one who practises acrobaticsIn music:* "Acrobat" , from U2's album Achtung Baby* "Acrobat", a song from Maxïmo Park's album A Certain TriggerIn literature:* Acrobat, a novel by Gonzalo Lira...
s, and clown
Clown
Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...
s, traces its heritage to Astley's Amphitheatre
Astley's Amphitheatre
Philip Astley opened Astley's Amphitheatre in London in 1773. * The structure was burned in 1794, then rebuilt. With increasing prosperity and rebuilding after successive fires, it grew to become Astley's Royal Amphitheatre and this was the home of the circus...
, a riding school that Astley founded in London following the success of his invention of the circus ring in 1768.
Biography
Philip Astley was born in Newcastle-under-LymeNewcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town in Staffordshire, England, and is the principal town of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is part of The Potteries Urban Area and North Staffordshire. In the 2001 census the town had a population of 73,944...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
the son of a cabinetmaker. At the age of nine, he apprenticed with his father, but Astley's dream was to work with horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s, so he joined Colonel Eliott's Fifteenth Light Dragoon Regiment when he was 17, later becoming a Sergeant Major
Sergeant Major
Sergeants major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. In Commonwealth countries, Sergeants Major are usually appointments held by senior non-commissioned officers or warrant officers...
. His service in the Seven Years War brought him into contact with professional trainers and riders. Astley himself was a brilliant rider.
Equestrian master
Astley had a genius for trick riding. He saw that trick riders received more attention from the crowds in IslingtonIslington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
. He had an idea for opening a riding school in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in which he could also conduct shows of acrobatic riding skill. In 1768, Astley performed in an open field at what is now the Waterloo
Waterloo Road, London
Waterloo Road is a road straddling Lambeth and Southwark, London, England. It runs between Westminster Bridge Road close to St George's Circus at the south-east end and Waterloo Bridge across the River Thames towards London's West End district at the north-west end.At the northern end near the...
area of London, behind the present site of St John's Church. He rode in a circle rather than a straight line as his rivals did, and thus chanced on the format which was later named a 'circus'. This format was so successful that Astley added a clown to his shows to amuse the spectators between equestrian sequences, and later moved to fenced premises just south of Westminster Bridge
Westminster Bridge
Westminster Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames between Westminster on the north side and Lambeth on the south side, in London, England....
, where he opened his riding school from 1770 onwards and expanded the content of his shows (see below). He taught riding in the mornings and performed his “feats of horsemanship” in the afternoons.
Astley began to make a reputation and to grow wealthier. After two seasons in London he had to bring some novelty to his performances, so he hired other equestrians, musicians, a clown
Clown
Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...
, jugglers
Juggling
Juggling is a skill involving moving objects for entertainment or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling, in which the juggler throws objects up to catch and toss up again. This may be one object or many objects, at the same time with one or many hands. Jugglers often refer...
, tumblers, tightrope walkers, and dancing dogs — the modern circus was created. Guilds and lineages of acrobats and clowns had performed throughout Europe for centuries before this, but as members of independent professions, not as part of an integrated entertainment experience for which an all-inclusive ticket was sold.
Astley did not invent trick-riding, which was already a popular entertainment of the period. His invention of the circular arena was successful for two reasons. First, it was easier for the audience to keep the riders in sight. Second, the circular ring (though Astley called it 'the Ride') helped riders through the generation of centrifugal force
Centrifugal force
Centrifugal force can generally be any force directed outward relative to some origin. More particularly, in classical mechanics, the centrifugal force is an outward force which arises when describing the motion of objects in a rotating reference frame...
, which allowed them to keep their balance while standing on the backs of their galloping horses. Astley never called his 'Astley's Amphitheatre of Equestrian Arts' a circus, though that title was shortly invented by others because of its shape. After a few years, he added a platform, seats, and a roof to his ring. Even after his death Astley's "Royal Amphitheatre" remained famous throughout the nineteenth century, being mentioned by Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
and Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
, among others. It was closed in 1893 and was demolished the next year. The nurses' accommodation block of St Thomas's Hospital now stands on the site.
Astley's original circus ring was 62 ft (~19 m) in diameter
Diameter
In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints are on the circle. The diameters are the longest chords of the circle...
, and later he settled it at 42 ft (~13 m), which has been an international standard for circuses since then. Not far from the Amphitheatre site is Hercules Road, named after the house Astley built and named Hercules Hall. The house is long gone, but its name is said to have commemorated Astley's celebrated horseback representation of the Labours of Hercules.
International success
Astley's circus was so popular that he was invited in 1772 to perform before Louis XV of FranceLouis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
in Versailles
Versailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
. Having been established from 1770 as a riding school and for open-air performances, the first Astley's Amphitheatre
Astley's Amphitheatre
Philip Astley opened Astley's Amphitheatre in London in 1773. * The structure was burned in 1794, then rebuilt. With increasing prosperity and rebuilding after successive fires, it grew to become Astley's Royal Amphitheatre and this was the home of the circus...
opened in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1773; it burned on 17 September 1794, but with abundant resources available due to the venture's prosperity it was rebuilt ad, in course was rebuilt again after successive fires, and eventually grew to become Astley's Royal Amphitheatre. Astley opened the first Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
ian circus in 1782, which he called the Amphitheatre Anglais
Amphitheatre Anglais
The Amphithéâtre Anglais in Paris, also known as the Amphithéâtre Astley, was opened in 1782 by Philip Astley as the first purpose-built circus in France....
. Soon after that, others opened new circuses, and this led to their worldwide fame.
Astley's first competitor was equestrian Charles Hughes, who had previously worked with Astley. Together with Charles Dibdin
Charles Dibdin
Charles Dibdin was a British musician, dramatist, novelist, actor and songwriter. The son of a parish clerk, he was born in Southampton on or before 4 March 1745, and was the youngest of a family of 18....
, a famous author of pantomimes, Hughes opened a rival amphitheatre in London, which Dibdin called Royal Circus and Equestrian Philharmonic Academy.
During the summers and other times when his London establishment was inactive, Astley established wooden amphitheaters throughout Great Britain; the first of these was erected in 1773 in Dublin, Ireland. He later established eighteen other circuses in European cities, was patronised by a great number of royals, and was famous, envied, and occasionally rich. He never used wild animals in the circus arena. They began to be displayed 14 years after his death in Paris. He was buried in Paris' Père Lachaise cemetery, having expired from gout
Gout
Gout is a medical condition usually characterized by recurrent attacks of acute inflammatory arthritis—a red, tender, hot, swollen joint. The metatarsal-phalangeal joint at the base of the big toe is the most commonly affected . However, it may also present as tophi, kidney stones, or urate...
in the stomach.
Legacy
Astley's Amphitheatre is mentioned in the popular fiction of Charles DickensCharles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
, Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
and William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society.-Biography:...
among others. In Jane Austen's Emma
Emma
Emma, by Jane Austen, is a novel about the perils of misconstrued romance. The novel was first published in December 1815. As in her other novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women living in Georgian-Regency England; she also creates a lively 'comedy of manners' among...
, in Chapter 54: "He delivered these papers to John, at his chambers, and was asked by him to join their party the same evening to Astley's. They were going to take the two eldest boys to Astley's." It is also a motif of James Joyce's Finnegans Wake
Finnegans Wake
Finnegans Wake is a novel by Irish author James Joyce, significant for its experimental style and resulting reputation as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the English language. Written in Paris over a period of seventeen years, and published in 1939, two years before the author's...
.
Astley's fame is also marked by the existence of three dance tunes which bear his name - Astley's Ride(s), Astley's Flag and more common, Astley's Hornpipe. Astley's Ride appears as the first tune in the music manuscript book of poet John Clare
John Clare
John Clare was an English poet, born the son of a farm labourer who came to be known for his celebratory representations of the English countryside and his lamentation of its disruption. His poetry underwent a major re-evaluation in the late 20th century and he is often now considered to be among...
.
Astley's Circus is featured prominently in Tracy Chevalier's Burning Bright.