ds and lineages of acrobats and clowns had performed throughout Europe for centuries before this, but as members of independent professions, not as part of an integrated entertainment experience for which an all-inclusive ticket was sold.
Astley did not invent trick-riding, which was already a popular entertainment of the period. His invention of the circular arena was successful for two reasons. First, it was easier for the audience to keep the riders in sight. Second, the circular ring (though Astley called it 'the Ride') helped riders through the generation of centrifugal force, which allowed them to keep their balance while standing on the backs of their galloping horses. Astley never called his 'Astley's Amphitheatre of Equestrian Arts' a circus, as that title was thought up by Charles Dibdin, who in partnership with Astley's rival Charles Hughes, opened the Royal Circus on 4 November 1782, a short distance from Astley's in Lambeth, London. After a few years, Astley added a platform, seats, and a roof to his ring. Even after his death Astley's "Royal Amphitheatre" remained famous throughout the nineteenth century, being mentioned by Charles Dickens and Jane Austen. It was closed in 1893 and was demolished the next year. The nurses' accommodation block of St Thomas's Hospital now stands on the site.
Astley's original circus ring was 62 ft (~19 m) in diameter, and later he settled it at 42 ft (~13 m), which has been an international standard for circuses since. Not far from the Amphitheatre site is Hercules Road, named after the house Astley built and named Hercules Hall. The house is long gone, but its name is said to have commemorated Astley's celebrated horseback representation of the Labours of Hercules.
Astley's circus was so popular that he was invited in 1772 to perform before Louis XV of France in Versailles. Having been established from 1770 as a riding school and for open-air performances, the first Astley's Amphitheatre opened in London in 1773; it burned on 17 September 1794, but with abundant resources available due to the venture's prosperity it was rebuilt and, in due course was rebuilt again after successive fires, and eventually grew to become Astley's Royal Amphitheatre. In 1782, Astley established the first purpose-built circus in France, the Amphitheatre Anglais in Paris. Astley then established 18 other permanent circuses in cities throughout Europe.
Astley's first competitor was equestrian Charles Hughes, who had previously worked with Astley. Together with Charles Dibdin, a famous author of pantomimes, Hughes opened a rival amphitheatre in London, which Dibdin called Royal Circus and Equestrian Philharmonic Academy.
During the summers and other times when his London establishment was inactive, Astley established wooden amphitheaters throughout Great Britain; the first of these was erected in 1773 in Dublin, Ireland. He later established eighteen other circuses in European cities, was patronised by a great number of royals, and was famous, envied, and occasionally rich. He never used wild animals in the circus arena. In 1806, with the profits he'd earned from his amphitheatre, Astley opened a new venue, the Olympic Pavilion (also known as the Olympic Theatre) on Wych Street, Westminster, near to the Strand. This tent-like structure, partly built from the remains of a French warship, did not prove a success, and in 1813 he sold it to Robert William Elliston, who renamed it the Little Drury Lane. Astley died a year later in Paris and was buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery, the cause of his death being gout in the stomach.
Astley's Amphitheatre is mentioned in the popular fiction of Charles Dickens, Jane Austen and William Makepeace Thackeray among others. In Jane Austen's Emma, in Chapter 54: "He delivered these papers to John, at his chambers, and was asked by him to join their party the same evening to Astley's. They were going to take the two eldest boys to Astley's." It is also a motif of James Joyce's Finnegans Wake.
Astley's fame is also marked by the existence of three dance tunes which bear h