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Billy Smarts Circus

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Cricko

Cricko

Zone Owner ⭐⭐🦐
Staff member
I guess only a few on here will remember the heady days of Billy Smarts Circus coming to Southend each year to set up their Circus in Southchurch Park East. I remember meeting the trains at Victoria station and walking down to the park with the Elephants and other animals, they always transported them by trains in those days. We used to get free tickets for the show if we helped them set up.

Since those days of course and rightly so IMO most countries have banned the use of large animals in Circuses, there are still a few in Europe who I am led to believe still do, but hopefully that will end soon.

Anyway on to the main point of this post.

I had to go to North Benfleet today to pick up a lovely lamp I purchased on Faceache Marketplace (BTW you find some lovely things on there) I did not put two and two together at all when we arranged for me to collect it, why would I even think of it after so many years.

Anyway I drove up the long lane past a few houses, searching for this house, (they have no numbers in this road and noticed as I was driving past one it had a sign on the gate saying "Billy Smart". I thought to myself when I find the house I am looking for I must ask the owner what that sign was all about up the road.

I got to the end of the road and could not find the house I was looking for so checked the message I had received about directions and noticed that the lady had said it had dog signs on the gates and the name Billy Smart. Again I never clicked at all when I saw that name in the message i had got.

I turn around, park outside the house with Billy Smart on the gate and it is the correct one of course. The lady came out with the lamp and I asked her what is that sign saying Billy Smart all about? she then goes on to tell me they are the actual real Billy Smart family. I was flabbergasted, Circuses were a big thing for kids in the times I grew up in. We briefly chatted and she told me Billy was not there at the moment but he would of been in charge in the days they came to Southend.

I went on to learn in that brief conversation he was the third Billy Smart in that Circus family and they had little to do with Circuses now apart from having a few cousins involved and that there was still a Billy Smarts in Tunisia.

The outcome of that chat is that when Billy comes back home I am actually going to go and meet up with him for a chat about all the old Circus days and no doubt much more old nostalgia.

What a great day , I cant wait to meet him.
 
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Good grief Creako - that was yonks ago.
I recall going to the circus when it was on the land opposite Southchurch Park with my dear old Nan taking me
 
Tinks said:
Good grief Creako - that was yonks ago.
I recall going to the circus when it was on the land opposite Southchurch Park with my dear old Nan taking me
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I did as well. Only thing i can remember is the cowboys & Indians 'battle' at the end. They all rode around the arena on horses firing their rifles, & all the 'baddie' Indians got shot!
 
This thread has jogged a memory for me. Was the circus at one stage over by the airport on land that is now the car park?
 
rigsby said:
This thread has jogged a memory for me. Was the circus at one stage over by the airport on land that is now the car park?
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I think that Circus,well up until fairly recent years is now located at the boot sale place up on the Benfleet roundabout. It was indeed based by the airport for a few years. It wasn't Billy Smarts though. In the older days BS and Chipperfields were the two big ones.

There were a few smaller ones but Billy Smarts was the main event. It became the biggest travelling Circus in the world. He and his family went on to found Windsor Safari park (Now Legoland)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Smart_Sr.
 
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There is a circus that turns up most years on a field besides the railway line along Southend Road up towards the Anne Boleyn. Usually arrives around Easter time. Also recall seeing a big top on the Isle of Wight 14-15 years ago though don’t remember the actual name of the circus.
 
kaymac said:
There is a circus that turns up most years on a field besides the railway line along Southend Road up towards the Anne Boleyn. Usually arrives around Easter time. Also recall seeing a big top on the Isle of Wight 14-15 years ago though don’t remember the actual name of the circus.
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It's been turning up there for about 30 years. It changed its name from the Great British Circus to Big Top Productions. Might be called something else this year. I took my daughter once and it was nearly all European ex gymnasts doing various acts.
 
THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK said:
It's been turning up there for about 30 years. It changed its name from the Great British Circus to Big Top Productions. Might be called something else this year. I took my daughter once and it was nearly all European ex gymnasts doing various acts.
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Makes sense, was called the Great Russian circus on at least one occasion. Everyone there had two or three different acts / duties.
 
I think the ones by the Anne Boleyn are different all the time. Of course the best Circus around now is Cirque du soleil.
 
Cricko said:
I think the ones by the Anne Boleyn are different all the time. Of course the best Circus around now is Cirque du soleil.
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I think they were the same circus for many years, but kept changing their name. Probably to make the public think they won't be seeing the same show if they go again. It's almost the same flyer posted all over each year, with the same special offers on tickets, but under a different name. Then after the animal protests about 2012, they phased out the animals and they hired more European ex gymnasts for acts, trying to go down the Circue du Soleil route, but nowhere near as good.
Small-Circus-Fantasia-poster-2019-Rochford-Southend.jpg
 
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