written by J.P. Browne The Powell and Clarke Circus began on the 4th of February, 1867 in a town called Dudley in England. The original Circus was started by three circus men called Anthony Powell, George Foottit and Alfred Clarke which they named “Powell, Foottit & Clarke’s Great Allied Circus”. Powell and Clarke were both equestrians, while Foottit was a clown. The Powell, Foottit and Clarke Circus began life as an English Midlands Circus with places like Worcester, Herefor

The following is the memoir written by former circus proprietor John Duffy of Duffy's Circus. The title says 'John Duffy The Irish Barnum' but in the printing I have of it the title is "76 Years a Showman" so I am sticking with it as I have seen this title cited by circus historians such as the late great Richard McMinn and Patrick Houlihan. This was supposedly a memoir written for advertising purposes but you would also imagine for himself so he would have something for pros

written by J.P Browne A Tober which is Circus slang for a lot or site that the Circus can perform in are tough to come by. Ask any circus proprietor and they will tell you the difficulties year in and year out of trying to get the perfect site for a circus to perform. The site should be something highly visible in the town for publicity with access to amenities and convenient parking for customers to get to are some of the easier items I can list. Over the years it’s become