Person    | Male  Born 8/1/1742  Died 20/10/1814

Philip Astley

Categories: Animals, Theatre

Equestrian performer and circus proprietor. Born Newcastle under Lyme. Aged 17 he joined the 15th Light Dragoons where he developed an exceptional ability breaking and riding horses. Discharged as a sergeant-major in 1766 he found work at a riding school in Islington. In 1767, as the 'English Hussar', he opened his own riding school in an open field near Glover's Halfpenny Hatch and there presented his first open-air performance on Easter Monday 4th April 1768. His innovation was to ride in a circle, providing continuous entertainment to a fixed audience. Previous such performers had ridden in a straight line which was much less satisfactory, both to the audience and to anyone trying to sell tickets.

Chris Barltrop of the Centre for Circus Culture has researched the old maps and he says the location of this field was about the middle section of Roupell Street. Astley's wife Patty took an active role: often performing riding tricks herself, as well as collecting the entrance fees and performing drum-rolls.

Success meant they could employ other acrobats, musicians and clowns. In 1769 they bought a timber yard and that became Astley's Amphitheatre. His shows were a challenge to the licenced theatre monopoly for which his was arrested but his case contributed to changes in the system. Astley toured his circus around Britain and France. His son, John, starred as a horseback dancer. Astley published 'Astley's System of Equestrian Education' Died in Paris where he is buried.

It would be a fair assumption that Astley had given up his horseback acrobatics by the time he posed for this picture.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Philip Astley

Commemorated ati

Astley's Circus

The plaque is no longer there and actually looks like it was not intended to ...

Read More

Astley's Circus - St Thomas's Hospital Gardens

London SE1 has a magnificent photo of the circus folk that accompanied the un...

Read More

Astley's first venue

Easter Monday in 1768 was 4 April. The plaque was erected by the Lambeth Esta...

Read More

Other Subjects

Mother Goose

Mother Goose

The interment register at St Olaves Hart Street records Mother Goose being buried on 14 September 1586. This is extremely strange so we did some digging.  The story of a goose laying golden eggs ca...

Fiction, Animals, Fictional

1 memorial
horses killed on service with British regular & territorial cavalry regiments

horses killed on service with British regular & territorial cavalry regiments

The memorial says "millions" have been killed and we don't dispute that. In particular see horses killed in Hyde Park terrorist attack.

Animal, Animals

1 memorial
Trump

Trump

The Picture source, Tate, says, about this William Hogarth self-portrait: "Hogarth’s pug dog, Trump, serves as an emblem of the artist’s own pugnacious character." The sculptor Roubiliac who create...

Animal, Animals

2 memorials
Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

The following text came from The RSPCA site: "In 1822, Richard Martin MP piloted the first anti-cruelty bill giving cattle, horses and sheep a degree of protection through parliament. ‘Humanity Dic...

Group, Animals

5 memorials
Gerald Durrell

Gerald Durrell

Writer and zoologist. Born Gerald Malcolm Durrell in Jamshedpur, Mayurbhanj, India. Brother to author Lawrence Durrell (1912-90). After his father's death his mother moved the family to Britain in...

Person, Animals, Literature, Channel Islands, Greece, India

1 memorial

Previously viewed

J. Beasley
War dead, WW1
1 memorial
T. Smith

T. Smith

Coaching Department

Person

War dead, WW1
1 memorial