Dates

• Existence: c1764 - 1845

Biography

Madame Sarah Hengler was an equestrian, wire walker and pyrotechnic performer and during her career she also appeared in pantomime.

Sarah married Michael Hengler in c1783 and they had three children Henry Michael (1784-1861), Tobias Joseph (born and died 1786), and Magdalen Elizabeth (b. c.1788).

Sarah took control of the firework factory when her husband died in 1802 and continued to supply her clientele for the next thirty nine years. Hengler’s fireworks regularly provided the firework entertainment for Astley’s Circus, the Olympic Circus, the May Fairs in Leicester and Vauxhall and Ranelagh Pleasure Gardens. In 1841 her daughter Magdalene took over the management of the business while Sarah took a back seat.

Sarah died in a fire at the firework factory on 9 October 1845.