Essex: When The Greatest Showman came to East Anglia

In an age unrestrained by advertising regulations, Barnum and Bailey’s claim to be ‘the Greatest Show on Earth’ could well be dismissed as part of the hype and humbug found everywhere at the time. But in this case it was true. The show was unlike anything seen before or since.

Its scale was epic, requiring four trains made up of specially modified railway wagons to transport it from showground to showground. The workforce was 860 strong including 250 performers. There were 460 horses and 660 other animals including 16 elephants and 18 camels.

The circus itself had three rings all in use at the same time as well as two platforms and a track around the outside used for horse, pony and chariot racing. 

The entertainment was continuous with breaks only long enough for one set of performers to replace another. 

Even these were covered by the appearance of clowns.  

All in all, there were nearly 50 acts: 'Trained animals, aerial displays, weird magic illusions, mid-air wonders, ground and lofty tumbling, aquatic feats, sub aqueous diversions, high class equestrianism, 3 herds of elephants, 2 droves of camels, jumping horses and ponies and races of all kind,’ a newspaper advert described. 

In addition to the circus, there was a huge menagerie and more than 40 performers in the so-called ‘freak show’.  So popular were these additional attractions that a separate illustrated booklet ‘The Wonder Book of Freaks and Animals’ could be bought by visitors.

Freak shows were extremely popular during the Victorian period.

It was P.T. Barnum himself who was largely instrumental in introducing them into popular culture.

In 1844, he had caused a sensation when he took the dwarf Charles Stratton, better known as General Tom Thumb, to Buckingham Palace to be presented to Queen Victoria.

When Barnum went into business with James Bailey in 1881 the Greatest Show on Earth was born and the freak show became an important part.

When the show visited Colchester, the ‘freaks’ or ‘prodigies’ as they preferred to be called, included: Annie Jones, the Bearded Lady; Charles Tripp the Armless Wonder; Hassan Ali, The Egyptian Giant, who stood seven feet 11 inches; Khusania, the Hindu Dwarf, standing just 22 inches; James Coffey the lton Dude said to weigh just two stone nine pounds and Sol Stone the Lightning Calculator who could carry out immensely complicated mathematical calculations in his head. 

The four special trains carrying Greatest Show on Earth began rolling into Colchester North station at about 1am on July 25 following a performance in Southend the previous evening.  

As soon as it was light unloading began. This was a mammoth operation, requiring more than 100 horse-drawn waggons. It was, according to the Essex County Standard, carried out like clockwork ‘a triumph of organisation and good temper’.

The show was staged at Drury Farm off Maldon Road and first to arrive was the dining tent. It accommodated 800 people but despite its size it was up and ready for use in 40 minutes. A breakfast of steak, chops, sausages and coffee was soon being served to the cast and crew. Then the 400 feet by 50 feet menagerie tent was erected and everyone got ready for the great street parade.

It was a gloriously fine morning and the streets were packed. Schools and factories were closed and people poured in from the surrounding area by rail and road. An hour before the procession started thousands of people were thronging the streets and the police were struggling to keep them open for traffic.

The parade set off from Maldon Road at 9.40am; the route took in Oxford Road, Crouch Street, St John’s Street, Magdalen Street, Brook Street, East Hill, the High Street and back to Maldon Road.    

It was led by mounted police outriders followed by a brightly uniformed band in a huge waggon drawn by 40 horses. Then came cages of lions, tigers, leopards, panthers, hyenas bears and wolves, all accompanied by their trainers.    

They were followed by horse riders of all descriptions along with charioteers.

Further back were a number of camels and a herd of elephants of all sizes, the largest of which had a houdah on its back carrying an Indian mahout and two passengers.

After these were coaches pulled by ponies and zebras, Japanese performers, another band, more caged animals, trumpeters on horseback, knights in armour and cavaliers. 

At the end of the procession came a trailer carrying and native Americans and a wigwam followed by a huge steam organ which, according to the Essex County Standard, played ‘Cock of the North’ until everyone was nearly deaf.

As soon as the procession had passed, thousands of people poured onto the showground where the big top had now been erected. This was a massive structure measuring nearly 600 feet by 250 feet with seating for 15,000 people.  

Ticket prices ranged from one shilling ( worth £5.75p today) to 7/6d (more than £40)

The first of two shows began at 2pm. The Essex County Standard’s reporter was overwhelmed: 'It was a blaze of colour and excellence such has never before been seen in this country.’ There were wonderful equestrian performances, curious feats of contortion and gymnastics, daring and thrilling aerial performances, clever exhibitions by educated animals and marvellous performing horses. Then followed horse races and jumping exhibitions.

The show programme claimed every aerialist, equestrian and gymnast was the best of his line; every horse a picture of equine perfection and the trained animals better handled than anywhere else. The animals in the great menagerie, it said, were finer specimens and more uncommon than could be found in the best permanent zoo.

The evening performance began at 8pm but three hours before that the dining tent and other tents no longer required were taken down and sent to the station.

When the show began the menagerie closed, the animal cages were hitched to horses and within minutes a long procession, including elephants and camels, made its way back to the station and on to the next stop in Ipswich. 

Then the rest of the site was cleared away and by the time the show ended little remained but the big top itself. 

It was estimated that between 11,000 and 12,000 people watched the afternoon performance and slightly more the evening show.

Almost before the last of them had left the site the final wagon was being loaded and all that remained of the Greatest Show on Earth’s visit to Colchester was a sprinkling of straw and some sawdust.