BERYL BURTON: Quite Possibly The Most Successful Woman You’ve Never Heard Of

When actress Maxine Peake was given cyclist Beryl Burton’s autobiography as a gift she questioned why no one had ever written a play about Britain’s unsung sporting legend, and so she wrote it herself.

The result is an inspirational tour de force fuelled by rhubarb, northern charm and fierce determination.

But just who is Beryl Burton?

As a child, doctors told Beryl that she could never take part in strenuous activities due to a heart condition. When she met future husband Charlie, and he introduced her to the local cycling club, her life changed forever.

Charlie described her development as a cyclist as follows: “First of all, she was handy but wasn’t that competent: we used to have to push her round a bit. Slowly she got better. By the second year, she was ‘one of the lads’ and could ride with us. By the third year, she was going out in front and leading them all. By then it was 1956 and she decided to do a bit of time trialling because I was dabbling at it.” In 1957, Beryl took her first national medal, a silver in the national 100-mile individual time trial championship, and before the decade was out Beryl was competing internationally.

Burton won the women’s world road race championship in 1960 and 1967 and was runner-up in 1961. On the track, she specialised in the individual pursuit, winning world championship medals almost every year across three decades. She was world champion five times (1959, 1960, 1962, 1963 and 1966), silver-medallist three times (1961, 1964 and 1968), and winner of bronze in 1967, 1970, 1971 and 1973.

In 1967, Beryl set a new 12-hour time trial record of 277.25 miles– a mark that surpassed the men’s record of the time by 0.73 miles and was not superseded by a man until 1969. While setting the record, she caught and passed Mike McNamara who was on his way to setting the men’s record at 276.52 miles and winning that year’s men’s British Best All-Rounder. She is reputed to have given him a Liquorice Allsort as she passed him.

Proving that she can do anything she put her mind to, Beryl went on to become the greatest woman on two wheels, dominating the sport in the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s: five times world-pursuit champion, thirteen times national champion, twice road-racing world champion, twelve times national champion, British record-holder, world-record holder, MBE, OBE.

“If Beryl Burton were French, Joan of Arc would have to take second place as the nation’s most revered female

icon” H H H H H – The Guardian

Sometimes it’s the stories that are true that are the most unbelievable.

Beryl by Maxine Peake will be show at The Dukes, Lancaster from Tuesday 7th to Saturday 11th June.

Tickets can be purchased online

D dukeslancaster.org or by contacting the Box Office N 01524 598500 or E tickets@dukeslancaster.org