Charlie Keith, famous clown and circus owner, constructed and
patented the first portable circus building. Keith had made
his name touring in circuses around the UK and Europe. He was
frustrated with performing in leaky tents with slippery and
muddy floors and wanted to construct a touring circus that was
sturdier than canvas. In 1882 Keith patented his ‘new travelling
building for a circus’, which only featured canvas in its roof.
Charlie Keith
Playbill for Charie Keith’s Circus
Keith’s portable circus was made of planks of wood nailed together
that could be flat packed onto transportation. The building
even had its own box office. It was illuminated with gas lights
and advertised as having a grand promenade with a fashionable
lounge. Keith claimed that his ‘circus building on wheels’ or
Keith’s Carriage Circus was an innovation, but Keith was not
the first to have the idea, and a similar arrangement had been
advertised for sale as early as 1854.
Scholar's Ticket
Portable Circus Patent
Click on a link below to listen to the Rules and Regulations
of Charlie Keith’s Circus.
Temporary circus buildings, which many companies used in the
early 19th century, were often hastily built and unsafe.
The gallery of a Bristol circus fell down in 1799, and in 1848
the wife of the circus proprietor Pablo
Fanque was killed in Leeds when the pit and gallery of a
temporary wooden circus collapsed. The circus had been built
the previous year for Hengler’s and had been due for demolition
after its departure. When Pablo Fanque had taken it over he
did not realise that Hengler’s men had removed the
beam-props to make their
get-out easier.
These are the solid vertical timbers that hold up the horizontal beams supporting the seating structure. These vertical beams would have been in the way of the company carrying equipment in and out of the building.
Get-out
The process of taking down a theatre (or television) set, and clearing the building after the show is finished.
Introduction
