Yorkshire – Journal of Victorian Culture Online

The Lost Circuses of Victorian Leeds

May 20, 2021 Steve Ward Other, Victorians Beyond the Academy, Victorians on Display

The Victorian era was the golden age of the circus. By the time that Victoria came to the throne, the circus, as we might recognise it today, was barely seventy years old. Founded in London by Philip Astley in 1768 with displays of horsemanship, military, and trick riding, the circus had expanded rapidly in the following years. Astley travelled throughout England giving performances in many northern towns and cities until he eventually made his way to Dublin. Performances were either

Lauren Padgett, ‘The British Scandal’: Victorian Spouse-Selling

August 3, 2015 lucinda matthews-jones Published in JVC

Lauren is currently following up this blog with further research about Victorian wife-selling in the Yorkshire region. Divorce as we know it was not permitted until the 1857 Matrimonial Causes Act, but there were other legal and illegal methods of ending marriages prior to this Act, each with their pros and cons. Separation mense et thoro (from bed and board) could be granted by ecclesiastical courts (but the marriage was not terminated). Annulments had a lengthy process. Private separations could