London’s Screen Archives enables Londoners see their past come alive on film. Managed by Film London, we are a unique network of historic film collections that cares for, collects and screens heritage film across the city. Together we preserve London’s rich film heritage from feature films to home movies, public information films, newsreels, and records of the capital’s many different industries.
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Loading Trains, Tenting Circus at Nottingham, Animals Coming from Station, Ascot
The circus hits town with fine shots of animals and performers parading through town, as well as scenes from the winter quarters at Ascot.
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Overview
This film captures some behind-the-scene activity for Bertram Mills Circus, one of the most popular of the era. It shows the circus train being loaded, a big top being erect in Nottingham and animals and performers – including men on stilts riding bicycles – parading through town. Contains scenes from Ascot, where the circus was quartered every year during winter.
Bertram Mills Circus were famed for their Christmas shows at Olympia, which are credited with reviving the circus in the UK. That was partly down to the patronage of the Prince of Wales, who would visit the circus at their winter quarters at Ascot, near Windsor Castle. According to circus mythology, a private box was installed for these visits as the Prince’s companion was often his lover, Wallis Simpson.
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