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The business of fun |
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Wild beasts and moving pictures
The distances travelled each year by the Anderton and Rowland firm were enormous. Setting out from Bolton New Year Fair, they could well travel around the Potteries and Eastern Counties during the Spring Run, spending the summer season touring Scotland or the West Country Regattas before returning to England for the Back End Run.
Grand Organ from the Scenic Railway, built in 1905
© De-Vey family |
The family lived in a horse drawn caravan, probably no more than 14 feet long. Inside they had to find accommodation for the whole family, as well as cook meals on the stove which also heated the wagon. Finding water, fuel and provisions was a priority at each town and village visited. Later showmen often employed a wagon girl to act as a servant to help with cooking, cleaning and general work.
Another of the priorities on arriving at the next location was to find somewhere suitable to water, feed and pasture the horses. This was not always an easy task and on occasions it may not have been possible to find suitable accommodation for them within three miles of fairground, and stabling could cost up to a shilling per night.
Soon Albert’s son, Arthur, joined the business when animal acts were added to the conjuring. Arthur Haslam became a well-known lion tamer under the name Captain Rowland, and so the famous partnership of Anderton & Rowland was formed.
The late 1800s were turbulent years for the Anderton and Rowland firm. In 1898 Professor Anderton and Captain Rowland were travelling with a menagerie which had to be sold at auction to clear debts. The sale, held in Bolton, offered no fewer than 50 animals, including lions, camels and their elephant. A Victoria motorcar by Rogers of Paris worth 300 guineas was also included in the sale.
This spell of bad luck led Messrs. Anderton and Rowland to the West Country, where the lucrative fetes and regattas of Devon proved real money spinners. Wild animals gave way to a travelling cinematography show, giving the Devon folk a glimpse of the new novelty of moving pictures. Before each show a live performance of dancing variety was given outside the show, often more lavish than the display given on the inside.
Tragedy hit the family in 1909 when Professor Anderton drowned in the river Sid. The show had just built up at Sidmouth when he went for a late night walk from which he never returned. His death was the catalyst for a new era for the firm.
Words: Stephen Smith
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