Chipperfield's Circus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chipperfield's Circus is the name of a famous British family circus that travels Europe with a comprehensive show with live wild animals. The dynasty goes back more than 300 years, making it one of the older family circus dynasties.
[edit] History
The name "Chipperfield" dates back to James Chipperfield, who introduced performing animals to England at the Frost Fair on the Thames in 1684.
Dick Chipperfield - who died at the age of 83 in 1988 - began performing as a clown at the family's fairground variety show when he was just five.
Jimmy, Dick's younger brother, also took part in the show as a clown, a wire-walker and an acrobat.
It was in the early 1930s that the Chipperfields started to become well established in the traditional circus business and by the end of World War II the show had become one of the largest touring circuses in Europe.
During the late 1940s, the RAF Wethersfield base was used as a winter camping ground for the Circus. Elephants were housed in the maintenance hangars and Nissen (Quonset) huts, formerly used as offices, became homes for lions, tigers, snakes and monkeys.
By 1953, Chipperfield's Circus ousted rivals Bertram Mills and Billy Smart and boasted a big-top tent which could accommodate 6,000 people. It had a collection of 200 horses, 16 elephants and 200 other animals.
But two years later Jimmy suddenly broke away from the family circus and after a brief spell at farming and managing other shows, he and daughter Mary began providing animals for film work.
In the 1960s he started making a career in "drive-through" safari parks, such as Longleat and Woburn Abbey, both at home and abroad.
[edit] Current History
Today Mary Chipperfield Promotions Ltd still trains and supplies animal acts for film and television work.
In the 1990s, however, it was reported in the press that Mary Chipperfield was abusing her animals.
The present day Chipperfield dynasty in the UK includes four other separate businesses.
Chipperfield Enterprises trains and supplies lion and tiger acts for circuses worldwide, while Clubb Chipperfield trains and supplies animals for circuses, advertising and film work.
The Chipperfield Organisation Ltd is an international animal supply and transport business, and Chipperfield Organisation (for Chipperfield Trust) manages and trades the animal stock at Longleat Safari park.
Sheila Chipperfield was a bassist in the rock band Elastica.
