PABLO FANQUE – CIRCUS OWNER EXTRAORDINAIRE
The early life of William Darby is unclear and there are two versions. iOne being that he was born in 1810 in the workhouse at St Augustine’s, Norwich, son of an Indian-born servant, who had been brought to the city. When William got married, he described his father as a butler. iiThe other version, by author, Steve Ward, suggests that his father was of African descent and was in service in Norwich.
iiiBy 1820, William was apprenticed to William Batty, a circus proprietor. William then changed his name to Pablo Fanque and gained a reputation as a high-performing gymnast within the circus. In the spring of 1840, the circus visited Norwich and Pablo was described as; iv“performing extraordinary leaps and other gymnastic feats”.
Only a year later, he decided to set up his own circus, starting with just two horses and an assortment of acts provided by one family, Mr and Mrs Hemmings, along with their son and his dog Hector. The circus performed mainly in Yorkshire at this time but did return to Norwich. vPablo married twice, first to Susannah Marlow and had two sons. In 1837, his five-year old son appeared with him and a year later received praise for vi“being the youngest performer in the world, whose talents have obtained for him the appellation of the Gem of Africa, the wonder of the world; he will go through some pleasing feats on the tightrope.” Unfortunately, in 1848 an accident at King Charles Croft in Leeds occurred when part of the building collapsed. Pablo junior was performing a tightrope act at the time and several people were injured; however, Susannah, his mother, lost her life. Later that year Pablo married Elizabeth Corker, a circus rider, and they had two more sons and a daughter. viiAs this poster shows, Pablo’s circus was now called The Circus Royal and it advertises an event held at the Victoria Gardens, Norwich, in December 1848. By this time he was hiring a number of weird and wonderful acts such as; Mr Butler as the Modern Sampson, Miss Cottrill as Alexina - the Heroine of Mongatz, Mr O’Donnell as The Indian of the Far West, Mr Williams as Orion - The Great and Mighty Hunter, Miss Brown as The Dancing Girl of Madrid and Pablo Fanque Junior as a clown portraying the life of a sailor. viiiPress cuttings described the event; “Mr William Darby, professionally called Pablo Fanque, a native of Norwich, entered this city with a fine stud of horses, preceded by an excellent brass band. We hear that the performances during the week have been well attended with large numbers having gone away unable to obtain admission.”
By 1850, Pablo decided to expand the circus, and, after investment, was able to continue his tour to Ireland and Scotland. ixHe and his circus were also presented to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert at Astley’s Amphitheatre. However, American circuses had started to invade the market by performing in marquees, meaning they were able to visit more rural towns and communities throughout the year, as apposed to being tied down to annual fairs in the larger towns.
By 1854, Pablo faced severe difficulties and in 1859 was declared bankrupt. A year later, however, he established The Phoenix Circus and for the next decade performed in marquees and toured the smaller industrial towns of Lancashire. xHe died on 5th May 1871 in Stockport and received a spectacular funeral with a vast crowd lining the route to the Woodhouse Lane Cemetery in Leeds, where his first wife was buried. Pablo’s favourite horse followed a band that played the ‘Dead March’. xiHe is remembered more recently by The Beatles’ song, ‘Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite’, with the lyrics;
“For the benefit of Mr Kite There will be a show tonight on trampoline The Hendersons will all be there Late of Pablo Fanque’s Fair, what a scene Over men and horses, hoops and garters Lastly through a hogshead of real fire In this way Mr K will challenge the world.” xiiAnd just last year a newly constructed building in All Saints Green, Norwich, was named Pablo Fanque House, which is being used as student accommodation for the University of East Anglia.
ihttps://norfolktalesmyths.com/tag/pablo-fanque/ ii https://books.google.co.uk/books iii https://norfolkrecordofficeblog.org/2019/10/20/pablo-fanques-return-to-norwich/ iv Norfolk Chronicle – 21st March 1840 v https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Fanque vi https://books.google.co.uk/books vii https://norfolkrecordofficeblog.org/2019/10/20/pablo-fanques-return-to-norwich/ viii The Norfolk News, Eastern Counties Journal, and Norwich, Yarmouth and Lynn Commercial Gazette. Saturday 30 December 1848 ix https://books.google.co.uk/books x https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Fanque xi https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/beatles/beingforthebenefitofmrkite.html xii https://www.uea.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/accommodation/options/pablo-fanque-house