Sarah Hengler
Sarah Hengler | |
---|---|
![]() Fancy Portrait - Madame Hengler in The Comic Annual Second Edition by Thomas Hood | |
Born | c. 1765 Surrey, England |
Died | 9 October 1845 |
Spouse | John Michael Hengler |
Children | 3 |
Sarah Hengler (c.1765 – 9 October 1845) was a British businesswoman, pyrotechnist and firework artist. She was one of the "Fire Queens" of Vauxhall Gardens.[1]
Early and personal life
[edit]Sarah Hengler was born in Surrey, England c. 1765. She was the second wife of the circus performer John Michael Hengler and they had three children, Henry Michael (1784-1861), Tobias Joseph (born and died 1786), and Magdalen Elizabeth (b.c.1788).[2][3] Henry Michael Hengler became a circus rope walker and his children and grandchildren, including Frederick Charles Hengler and Jenny Hengler, became leading players in the British circus field.[4][5][6][7]
Career
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Sarah Hengler created and presented firework displays for Vauxhall Gardens, Astley's Royal Amphitheatre, the Royal Circus and the Surrey Theatre.[4][8] She collaborated with Madame Saqui, a leading tightrope walker of the day, providing the fireworks which were a part of Saqui's act.[9][10] Hengler toured with her family, supplying fireworks to accompany their acrobatic rope performances. The Hengler family performed at a "Grand Display of Fire Works and Instrumental Concert" during the Leicester Races in September 1821.[11][12]
John Michael Hengler died in 1802 and Sarah Hengler took over running the business for the next thirty nine years.[3][13] She remarried in 1808 and became Mrs Fields,[14] although she was also known as Mrs Wells, but continued to use the Madame Hengler name. She was sometimes known as Signora Hengler as well.[15][4] She continued to create firework displays, running the business from a property, number 4 Asylum Buildings, off Westminster Bridge Road on the south side of Westminster Bridge in London.[4] The property had a ground floor showroom, workshops for packing fireworks and accommodation for Hengler plus her staff and family members.[4] Three people were killed in a series of explosions there in August 1818.[4]
On 9 July 1822, Madame Hengler, described as The King's Pyrotechnic, was involved in experiments run by Henry Trengrouse in Hyde Park across the Serpentine. Trengrouse was attempting to create a rocket on a rope that could be fired to ships in distress near shore and enable a rescue chair to be set up. Hengler was credited with inventing the rocket element of the lifesaving equipment.[16][17]
In 1841 her daughter Magdalene, took over running the business and Hengler retired.[3] Sarah Hengler was killed in a fire at the Asylum Buildings premises during October 1845.[15][18][19][4] Her son Michael performed as a tightrope dancer on the same bill as Madame Saqui in the Hippdrome in Paris in 1852, to "immense success".[20][21]
In 1830, Hood's Comic Annual published an Ode to Madame Hengler, the Firework maker to Vauxhall and in 1839 the poet Thomas Hood also wrote an Ode to Madame Hengler.[4][22][23][1][24]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "'Blue stars and white, and blood-red light': Fireworks in Georgian Britain". Sir John Soane's Museum. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
- ^ "Hengler Grand Cirque (1844 - 1924) | Discover Our Archives". archives.shef.ac.uk. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ a b c "Hengler, Sarah, c1764 - 1845 | Discover Our Archives". archives.shef.ac.uk. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h HCG Matthew & Brian Harrison, ed. (2004). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Vol 26 (Haycock-Hichens). Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-8613-768.
- ^ "Hengler, Jenny Louise (b. 1849), equestrian performer". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-53945. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
- ^ "Hengler, (Frederick) Charles (1820–1887), circus proprietor". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/12926. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
- ^ "Hengler, John Michael (1831–1919), tightrope walker and circus manager". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/53825. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
- ^ David Coke (12 February 2012). "Fireworks at Vauxhall". Vauxhall History online archive. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
- ^ Ward, Steve (2016). Sawdust sisterhood: how circus empowered women. Fonthill. ISBN 978-1-78155-530-9.
- ^ "Aug 08, 1819, page 1 - The Morning Post at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com". www.newspapers.com. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
- ^ "Hengler's Benefit Handbill, Kingston upon Hull, 1 August 1807". www.ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
- ^ "Sep 13, 1821, page 3 - Leicester Journal, and Midland Counties General Advertiser at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
- ^ "Vauxhall Gardens". www.vauxhallgardens.com. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
- ^ "Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1938". www.ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
- ^ a b "MADAME HENGLER. - Colonial Times (Hobart, Tas. : 1828 - 1857) - 20 Feb 1846". Trove. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
- ^ "Jul 09, 1822, page 4 - The Bury and Norwich Post at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com". www.newspapers.com. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
- ^ "Jul 06, 1822, page 5 - Sunday Dispatch at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
- ^ "LORD BYRON. - A Statue--But no Burial--and no Bust TO THE EDITOR OF THE SPECTATOR. Harrow, 29th October 1845. - The Spectator (Sydney, NSW : 1846) - 28 Feb 1846". Trove. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
- ^ "MISCELLANEOUS EXTRACTS. - The Port Phillip Patriot and Morning Advertiser (Vic. : 1845 - 1848) - 23 Mar 1846". Trove. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
- ^ "L'Argus: revue théâtrale et journal des comédiens : théâtre, littérature, modes, beaux-arts / M. Salvador, directeur-gérant et rédacteur en chef". Gallica. 13 June 1852. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
- ^ "Le Nouvelliste: quotidien politique, littéraire, industriel et commercial / [gérant : A. Thiboust]". Gallica. 5 June 1852. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
- ^ "Ode to Madame Mengler, the Firework maker to Vauxhall. - The Hobart Town Courier (Tas. : 1827 - 1839) - 17 Apr 1830". Trove. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
- ^ Brock, A. St. H. "Pyrotechnics: the history and art of firework making THE HISTORY AND ART. OF FIREWORK MAKING. BY A. St. H. BROCK" (PDF). Internet Archive.
- ^ "'Would that Its Tone Could Reach the Rich!'". Romantic Textualities. 14 February 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2025.