William Batty (performer)

William Batty (1801–1868) was an

Biography

Batty was an equestrian performer as early as 1828, and by 1836 he was operating his own circus.

Batty managed Astley's Amphitheatre from 1842 to 1853. All the major circus acts of the day performed at Astley's, including Pablo Fanque who performed there for twelve nights in March 1847. Batty leased the building to William Cooke in 1853. Cooke would run Astley's until 1860.^[2][3]

While managing Astley's in the autumn of 1850, Batty acquired land in Kensington Gardens, London, to begin construction of an open-air arena for theatrical and equestrian events. Batty chose the site, which covered a large area at the end of the Broad Walk (now occupied by DeVere Gardens), to attract visitors to the

When Batty died in 1868, he was reportedly worth a half a million pounds sterling.[2] He is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery in London.^[7]

In the 21st century, American ringmaster Noah Mickens of Oregon's Wanderlust Circus uses Batty's name as his own stage name. Prior to Wanderlust, Mickens' early circus was called Batty's Hippodrome, another homage to Batty.

References