Patty Astley

Patty Astley (1741–1814)[1] was an English equestrian and circus performer.[1] She was wife to Philip Astley who is regarded as "the father of modern circus".[2]

Early life and education

Martha Mary Polly Jones was born in 1741 in Flintshire.[1]

Career

Patty and her husband put on their first public show on Easter Monday, 4 April 1768.[3] Patty's act included military riding manoeuvres, standing astride two horses, and performing handstands on a moving horse, as well as the unique and unusual act of riding with "a swarm of bees [...] on her arm, imitating a Lady's Muff".[4][5] She was advertised as "the only one of her sex"[6] and her husband Phillip Astley is quoted, at the time, as introducing her as the conclusion or finale of one particular show: "When you have seen all my bill exprest, My Wife, to conclude, performs the rest".[1]

In 1772, the couple performed for the French king, Louis XV, at Fountainbleau castle.[1]

Scholar Vanessa Toulmin states that Patty Astley is an important figure to be "deliberately reintroduced into the text as part of a reshaping of the originating narrative of circus".[1]

Personal life and death

She married Philip Astley on 8 July 1765 in London.[1] Their only child, John, was born 2 years later. He performed in the circus from the age of 5.[1]

Astley died in 1803.[1] She was 61.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Toulmin, Vanessa (2018-07-03). "'My wife to conclude performs the rest' – Patty Astley the first lady of circus". Early Popular Visual Culture. 16 (3): 290–300. doi:10.1080/17460654.2019.1569866. ISSN 1746-0654.
  2. ↑ "The Circus comes to the Circus". BBC News. 2003-04-08. Retrieved 2026-06-12. The modern circus was invented by a former cavalry sergeant-major, Philip Astley.
  3. ↑ Kwint, Marius (2004-09-23). "Astley, Philip (1742–1814), equestrian performer and circus proprietor". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 1 (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/821. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. Astley married Patty Jones (1740/41–1803) in London on 8 July 1765... On 4 April [1788] Astley opened his own 'riding school' ... After collecting the 6d. admission or shilling for a seat, Mrs Astley would perform several of the turns, sometimes covering for her husband... and developing her own specialism in mounted apiculture. She would also drum out an accompaniment before their exceptional profits... allowed two French-horn players to be employed. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
  4. ↑ Kellem, Betsy Golden (12 June 2026). Jumping Through Hoops: Performing Gender in the 19th Century Circus. The Feminist Press at CUNY.
  5. ↑ "The Bees: Mrs Astley". Caledonian Mercury (Newspaper advertisement). 21 December 1774. p. 3.
  6. ↑ Jando, Dominique. Philip Astley & The Horsemen who invented the Circus. p. 36.
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