James Newsome, 1824-1912, was first apprenticed to Astley’s circus and became a leading equestrian and trainer of horses, later running his own circus for almost forty years. Much like Tudor, he was known for the great care he took of his stud of trained horses. And, like Charlie Keith, he was a notable builder of wooden circuses.

He ran circuses in partnership first with Hernandez and Stone, then with Pablo Fanque. He and his famous equestrienne wife Pauline Newsome ran their own circus under the names of Madame Newsome’s Circus-Cirque Napoleon (1856-1859) and then James Newsome’s Royal Alhambra Palace Circus from 1860. Pauline and James had six daughters, Adele, Emma, Pauline, Marie, Ella Bertha and Virginie Coralie, who all performed in the circus. Adele and Emma both eloped in 1869 to marry other circus performers but soon returned to the Newsome Circus fold.

(McMillan, 2022, cover)

Newsome’s Alhambra Circus visited Cambridge for a season in September 1861 (CIP, 21 September 1861, p 8) and occupied a large, temporary wooden building at Burrell’s Bowling Green in Newmarket Road. Where was this bowling green? Since the 1861 census reveals that George Burrell was the publican at The Bell near Coldham’s Lane, and pubs often had bowling greens, then perhaps we can place it there.

As well as the circus performance, visitors could examine the horses and even have ‘Lessons in the graceful and polite Art of Riding’ (CIP, 28 September 1861, p 4)

It is some years since we have had a stationary circus in Cambridge; a circus of late, is ‘here today, but gone to–morrow,’ but Mr. Newsome has come to make quite a stay amongst us, and this he would not attempt to do, if he were not prepared to provide a fund of amusement varied and excellent in its character. This circus is a most substantial building, and has been erected by Mr. Bullock, with great taste and care. It is to be placed on Mr. Burrell’s Bowling Green, the ample dimensions of which enable Mr. Newsome to have a building of a gigantic scale. The circus was opened to the public on Monday; it has been very liberally patronised, and we need hardly say that the performances are excellent. Mr. Newsome himself is a splendid horseman, and his graceful riding wins him great applause

CIP, 28 September 1861, p 5

There were three other equestrians: Madame Newsome, Mr Bradshaw and Mr Pearson, and some juveniles of astonishing excellence, very likely the young Newsomes. And then the other circus acts, including Madame Hassan’s tightrope dancing, and the acrobatics of Hogini and his two youths, and three capital clowns:

(CIP, 28 September 1861, p 5)

Another name on the bill was Henry Brown, often referred to in The Era as a ‘Jester’, who was the father of William Tudor’s first wife Alice, who died in 1876.

In June 1862 Newsome was back again, this time on Butt Green.

CCJ, 28 June 1862, p 1

On 4 August, Mrs Newsome’s benefit night, James rode and drove six of his horses through the Cambridge streets to advertise it (McMillan, 2022, p 68). The last night of the season was Saturday 23 August 1862.

 (McMillan, 2022, p 220)

From then on his circuses mostly toured in Scotland and the north of England, often travelling by special train. However, there were further connections with our Cambridge circuses.

Charlie Keith, William Tudor’s sometime partner, appeared at Newcastle on 28 April 1884 with Newsome’s Circus and again on 14 November 1887. Funny Fred Hall, Tudor’s brother, performed at Newsome’s Circus in Wakefield on 24 March 1894, when he was ‘accorded a hearty reception on his return to the city’ (Wakefield Free Press, 31 March 1894, p 5), and in Leeds a few weeks later in May.

A fire destroyed the Newsomes’ wooden circus building in Edinburgh on 12 September 1887. The circus company was in Blackpool at the time and James was forced to rebuild in steel and concrete, the cost of which bankrupted him two years later. He had to auction off his animals and, although he continued to perform either with his own or in other circuses, he never fully recovered his success. By the time he appeared at Tudor’s Circus in Cambridge in 1896 he was 74 and was performing with just his four Shetland ponies, and the pair of comical mules, Punch and Judy. His daughter Virginie Coralie, who also performed on this programme with her dancing mare Duchess and thoroughbred horse Mornington, returned without her father in May 1897. Post Tudor, James returned to Auckland Road in August and September 1901 (CDN 26 August 1901, p2; Cambridge Graphic, 7 September 1901, p 9; CDN, 10 September 1901, p3).

James continued to perform and even tried to revive his own circus company, but later he and Pauline fell on hard times and in 1904 there was an appeal in the Era (27 February) for contributions to a fund for them. This was repeated in July 1911 a few months before James died in January 1912, when his obituary in the Era described him as the grand old man of the circus world.

Bibliography

McMillan, Stuart. James Newsome’s Grand Circus. Glasgow, S McMillan, 2022.

Go back to top of this page