The Cromer Times
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Issue no 554 November 24th 2018
Friends of Cromer Museum
This year it is 250 years since the circus became accepted as an entertainment and art form in its own right so it was fitting that the first of this winter’s talks given by Gareth Davies and organised by the Friends of Cromer Museum dealt with the life of Pablo Fanque, one of the early pioneers of the circus.
His life and times as a circus performer and proprietor shed light not only on Pablo Fanque’s remarkable life but also on the social attitudes of Victorian England.
Fanque’s real name was William Darby and he was born in 1810 in
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St. Andrews’ Workhouse in Norwich. He was of mixed race and although Norwich was regarded as a relatively liberal city for the time non-whites still had a hard time. It was when he was apprenticed to William Batty, a well-known circus owner, that Fanque developed the skills in tumbling, acrobatics and, particularly, equestrianism that were to play a key part in his life as performer and circus owner. Norwich had its own circus building called the Parthenon or Rotunda which Pablo Fanque was on the site of what became the Victoria Station in later years. By 1840 equestrianism was the mainstay of the circus and in late 1841 Fanque left William Batty’s circus and set up his own show. He had financial support from William Bullard the brewer and the first performance of Fanque’s own circus was given in February 1842.
Fanque’s career lasted until his death in May 1871 and had a number of ups and downs. His circus was very popular in the north of England but his life was not without tragedy. Continued on page 4...
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