Billy Smart's Circus (c1946 - 2006)
Biography
Billly Smart's Circus was established by William 'Billy' Smart (1894-1966). Billy came from a fairground family from London with an interest in horses and circuses. In 1946 Billy came across Cody's Circus and bought the big top.
Billy Smart's New World Circus made its debut at Southall Park, Middlesex, on 5 April 1946, for the first full season after the end of the war. Initially, Billy run his circus in conjunction with his fun fair, which was being run by his children, but by 1952 the fun fair, which was overshadowed by the circus, disappeared. The success of the circus side of the business however continued to increase and in 1955, Billy Smart's Circus grew from its two-pole tentto a 6,000 seat, four-pole round big top with a hippodrome track around the ring, and a vast entrance tent, thus enabling the staging of spectacular parades, which became a Billy Smart's Circus trademark.
Billy's greatest innovation, however, was his relationship with the newly established television networks when he agreed to broadcast his circus live on the BBC in 1947. Over the years, Billy Smart's Christmas Spectacular became a BBC holiday tradition, which ITV took over in 1979 and carried on until 1982. The BBC's first-ever colour broadcast was a 'Tribute to Billy Smart', while Royal Performances took place in London, raising thousands of pounds for charity.
A large part of the success of the circus was the showmanship that Billy brought to the operation of the circus, the large family he could draw upon to run the shows and his ability as a showman to market and capture opportunities to advertise. Whilst other circus proprietors were threatened by the rise in popularity of television and shunned the cameras, Billy Smart embraced them. Smart's Circus grew to be one of the largest in the world, touring every part of the British Isles, and with permanent quarters and an associated zoo at Winkfield, Berkshire, not far from where Smart began his fairground career. His success took the circus through twenty-six tenting tours, winter seasons, frequent TV appearances and the provision of animal acts to other circuses.
Billy died in his caravan on 25 September 1966 and the circus passed onto his sons Ronnie, David and Billy Jr. who continued travelling Billy Smart's New World Circus until around 1971.
In the 1990s Ronnie and his sons Gary and Lord revived the Smart Circus and started to tour a smaller scale version of the original circus. However, the Smart Circus was never the same after the dead of Billy and soon after, the Smart name was rented out to other circus operators until it stopped operating in the early 2000s.
Found in 1051 Collections and/or Records:
Business Records Relating to Billy Smart's Circus, 1990 - 1999
Includes documents about Kay Smart's writing course; Kay Smart's experience of auctioning off circus items; a small notebook; notes on various circus acts; correspondence with Aardvark Publishing regarding a book about Billy Smart and his circus; poetry by Kay Smart.
Business Records Relating to Billy Smart's Circus Christmas Season at Battersea Park, 1991
Includes performance schedules, correspondence about marketing, leaflet designs, a questionnaire and correspondence about a shareholders agreement for letting Battersea Park.
Business Records Relating to Billy Smart's Circus Tour 2000, 1999 - 2000
Includes correspondence, invoices, cheques, insurance documents, press articles, leaflets, posters, applications for circus tour sites to various sites in the UK, employment application for Philip Kenyon and an agreement with Yorkshire Productions Ltd regarding the 2000 tour of Billy Smart's Circus in Blackheath, London. Also includes leaflets, a performance running order and press articles about the Netherlands National Circus which was produced for the UK by Kay Smart.
Business Records Relating to Billy Smart's Road Signs, 1997 - 1998
Includes correspondence with the RAC and applications for them to create road signs for Billy Smart's Circus tours in 1997 and 1998 at various sites in the UK.
Business Records Relating to Billy Wilson-Smart, 1990
Includes correspondence between Billy Wilson-Smart (elephant trainer and nephew of Ronnie Smart), Ronnie Smart and their solicitors about the use of the 'Smart' name.
Business Records Relating to Billy Wilson Smart, 1979 - 1990
Includes correspondence between Billy Wilson Smart, the Smart Family and their solicitors over the use of the Smart name in Billy Wilson Smart's act in Gandey's Circus accompanied by photographs, posters and press articles. Also includes correspondence regarding a Smart elephant truck used by Billy Wilson Smart.
Business Records Relating to Blackheath, London, 1992 - 1998
Includes correspondence with Borough of Greenwich Council about the use of Blackheath as a site for Smart's Circus in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1999. Also includes policies, indemnity insurance documents, correspondence about the use of live animals in performances, meeting minutes, licences and costings.
Business Records Relating to Bonbon and Tina, 1996
Includes contracts, correspondence and a photograph of performers Bonbon and Tina for the 1996 season of Billy Smart's Circus.
Business Records Relating to Bournemouth, 1997 - 2000
Includes correspondence between Smart's Circus and Bournemouth Borough Council regarding using Bournemouth as a site for Smart's Circus 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001 tours, accompanied by promotional material for Bournemouth. Also includes correspondence with Ross Adam.
Business Records Relating to Bristol City Council, 1998 - 2000
Includes correspondence between Smart's Circus and Bristol City Council regarding using Bristol as a site for Smart's Circus 1999, 2000 and 2001 tours.
Business Records Relating to Bronislaw Troupe, 1998
Includes work permit applications and permits and contracts for the Bronislaw Troupe for the 1998 season of Billy Smart's Circus.
Business Records Relating to Cambridge City Council, 1997
Includes correspondence with Cambridge City Council, set up schedules, maps of the site and route.
Business Records Relating to Cannobio Specializzata in Teloni T.I.R., 1982 - 1985
Includes plans, press information regarding the Billy Smart’s Circus and quotations.
Business Records Relating to Chester City Council, 1996 - 2000
Includes correspondence between Smart's Circus and Chester City Council regarding using Chester as a site for Smart's Circus 1997 and 2000 tours as well as Smart's co-produced The Netherlands National Circus in 2000.
Business Records Relating to Children's Television Programmes, 1954 - 1957
Includes ideas, scripts and schedules for children's television programmes accompanied by correspondence with the BBC. Also includes lists of salaries of acts and staff in 1954 and 1955.
Business Records Relating to Circus Friends Association, 1991 - 1993
Includes drafts of the Billy Smart's New World Circus piece written by David Jamieson and correspondence between the Smart family and Circus Friends Association.
Business Records Relating to City of Plymouth Council, 1991 - 2000
Includes correspondence between Smart's Circus and City of Plymouth Council regarding using a site in Plymouth as part of Smart's Circus 1993, 1994 and 2001 tours. Also includes press articles on the ban of Smart's Circus in Plymouth in 1992 due to use of dogs and horses in its performances.
Business Records Relating to Clapham Common, 1994 - 1998
Includes correspondence between Smart's Circus and Lambeth Borough Council for using Clapham Common as a site for Smart's Circus 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2000 tours. Also includes lists of contact details, invoices, a court order for illegal advertising from Wandsworth council, schedules of terms, fees and charges and licence agreements.
Business Records Relating to Coventry City Council, 2000
Includes correspondence relating to Billy Smart's Big Top Show returning to Coventry during the 2002 tour, a leaflet and a map of Coventry with the site highlighted.
Business Records Relating to Croome International Transport, 1997 - 2000
Includes correspondence, invoices, customs, shipping, import and delivery documentation for circus props between Smart's Circus and Croome Internal Transport.