Founded 1850
Pinder’s Circus started in 1850. Queen Victoria summonsed them to Windsor Castle but commanded that they leave the lions behind. “The Queen does not like them”. William Pinder and Sons (Tom Eddie, Billie and George) were a family well known to Fenwick. In his scrapbook in 1929 ‘Pinder” is written at the bottom of a Australian Circus and Lion Show programme (with a photo of a “Beauty” the only performing Zebra in the world) and at the bottom it advertises a side show. Pinder’s Big Zoo Circus often came to the Town Moor (see photo above) and performed at the Palace Theatre in Newcastle. William Pinder was grand son of Thomas Ord, he died in 1941 at Thornhill, Dumfries. Shortly after Fenwick met Eddie Pinder on the road near Hexham, “2 wagons but no sign of the circus”, they talked of having to shoot the lions at the outbreak of war, except for the favorite lioness which was traveling with them still and their elephant had just died at Dumfries. News also was that their pigeons were missing too, they “would fly from town to town and always turn up in the evening”. The Pinders family are still performing today.
