Lord George Sanger’s Circus

Excitement ran high when the circus came to town and it is interesting to note that one of the most colourful of sawdust ring families, the Sanger family, had a strong link with this part of the world.

There was a tradition in the Sanger family that it came to England as court jesters in the time of King John.

But something must have gone wrong with jesting, for the family history shows that for many generations the Sanger clan farmed at Tisbury, and it was fate that brought them back into the public eye as entertainers.

Great grandfather James and his elder brother were on a visit to London when there was a cry of “Press”. James hid for some time in a barrel and then walked right out into the arms of another Press Gang and he found himself in the Royal Navy.

He was aboard the “Victory” at the Battle of Trafalgar, and in the fighting suffered such wounds that he was granted his discharge with a pension of sevenpence a day and the “royal prescription” which was known as “The Freedom of England”.

This allowed him to follow any trade he wished, and it gave him the right to travel freely.

Going back home to Tisbury he found, after eleven years, that his mother and father were dead and that he was unwanted by the rest of the family.

So, remembering the tricks he had learnt at sea, he decided on showbusiness – and that’s how it all started. He was followed by his son George, who in time became “Lord” George Sanger, and it was his shows that came to Salisbury each year.

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