We’ve had a good snoop round the stores in the Discovery Museum. Some of the Fenwick Collection lives in this part of the building too. See photos on Facebook
Following in Fenwick’s Footsteps
La Bonche family interview the VERY SAME circus performer who appeared in Fenwick’s archives over 50 years ago! by Squeezebox Rosie Arthur Fenwick did not just collect newspaper articles for his scrapbooks, but was also close friends with many circus owners and performers whose anecdotes and correspondence greatly enrich and enliven the archive. Keen to… [Read More]
Fantastic Headlines from the Archives
Since we started this research into the Fenwick Collection at the T&W Archives, we’ve always loved looking at the Scrapbooks. Each page seems to give us a new exciting headline. They are careful cut out and stuck into the pages, with Arthur’s blue ink notes to tell us the dates and other snippets of information…. [Read More]
Hob of Pelaw
1237 Hob of Pelaw, the unlucky entertainer at Durham, was employed by the prior of Durham, Thomas Melsomby in 1237 for the entertainment of the monks. His tight rope was rigged between the Central Tower and West Tower of Durham Cathedral. He fell during the act, much to the horror of the audience, and died…. [Read More]
Billy Purvis
1784 – 1853 Billy was known as a clown and jester of the North. Born, William, near Edinburgh he moved to Newcastle aged 2 to the Close (near Mansion House) where he lived for 66 years. Aged 16 he became an apprentice joiner in the Bigg Market for 7 years and then became a cabinet… [Read More]
James Newsome
1842 – 1912 James Newsome, or genius of the Ring, was born in 1824 in Newcastle upon Tyne and then raised in Astley’s Amphitheatre in London. His brother Timothy was a famous lion tamer who worked with many menageries. When he was 12 his father apprenticed him to William Batty to become an equestrian because… [Read More]
Martini Maccomo
1835 – 1871 Probably born in Angola, though some think he was form The West Indies, Martini Moccomo was “a man of indomitable courage, whose 12 years of performances with the lions and tigers of Manders’ Great (then Royal) Menagerie gained for him a reputation second to none as a tamer and as a man.”He… [Read More]
Town Moor Newcastle
Founded 1882 The Town Moor in Newcastle has a long history as a home to Circus, The Races and as a Fair Ground. Initially known as the Temperance Festival, it started in 1882. Barnum & Bailey’s show appeared and 1898 & 1899 with 960 men & 420 horses in 1904 Buffalo Bill’s Wild West appeared… [Read More]
Tudor Circus
1894-8 On an Alan Godfrey reprint of the Ordnance Survey 1894 map of Newcastle and Gateshead, was a building which was written about, in the modern blurb. It said, “A new circus is shown in Sunderland Road, but this and other nearby theatres were always short-lived”. In the ‘Gateshead Register of Street and Building Plans’… [Read More]
NE Circus Venues
19th Century Within the Fenwick Collection there are numerous references to where circuses would perform. These were often on the edges of the town, in fields, or on show grounds. The scale of some of these circuses meant that there would be no other option to cater for a ‘mammoth’ show consisting of 1000 men… [Read More]
