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“Circuses have evolved through several stages since Astley first measured out his 42ft-ring in 1768. In his lifetime there were no animals in circuses; that came later, a couple of years after his death, when American animal trainer Isaac A Van Amburgh married up the idea of the travelling menagerie – portable zoos, basically – with what was on offer at the circuses, and introduced big cats and elephants. In a way, circuses have come full circle as animal acts have fallen out of favour these days. Many circuses are human-performers only; some, like Philip Astley, offer equestrian acts alongside the clowns and acrobats.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/philip-astley-250-anniversary-uk-first-modern-circus-greatest-showman-a8141826.html?ns_mchannel=email&ns_source=newsdaily_newsletter&ns_campaign=NEWS_NLB_Wk2_Tues_9_Jan&ns_linkname=bbcnews_circus_newsuk_circus&ns_fee=0

The story of how one man created the modern circus in BritainCircuses are big news again this month, whether it’s the glitz and glitter of The Greatest Showman, the Hugh Jackman-led movie about the life of showbusiness entrepreneur PT Barnum (in cinemas now), or the altogether darker thrills of Pennywise the evil clown in the imminent DVD release of the adaptation of Stephen King’s horror novel It.