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Sarah Hengler

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Sarah Hengler
Fancy Portrait - Madame Hengler in The Comic Annual Second Edition by Thomas Hood
Bornc. 1765
Surrey, England
Died9 October 1845
SpouseJohn Michael Hengler
Children3

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

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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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Madame Saqui in a short tunic and trousers, running down a tightrope surrounded by fireworks, over a large crowd gathered watching her outside surrounded by trees in Vauxhall Gardens

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

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ "Hengler Grand Cirque (1844 - 1924) | Discover Our Archives". archives.shef.ac.uk. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
  3. ^ a b c "Hengler, Sarah, c1764 - 1845 | Discover Our Archives". archives.shef.ac.uk. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ "Hengler, (Frederick) Charles (1820–1887), circus proprietor". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/12926. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  7. ^ "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.
  8. ^ David Coke (12 February 2012). "Fireworks at Vauxhall". Vauxhall History online archive. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  9. ^ Ward, Steve (2016). Sawdust sisterhood: how circus empowered women. Fonthill. ISBN 978-1-78155-530-9.
  10. ^ "Aug 08, 1819, page 1 - The Morning Post at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com". www.newspapers.com. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  11. ^ "Hengler's Benefit Handbill, Kingston upon Hull, 1 August 1807". www.ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  12. ^ "Sep 13, 1821, page 3 - Leicester Journal, and Midland Counties General Advertiser at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  13. ^ "Vauxhall Gardens". www.vauxhallgardens.com. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  14. ^ "Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1938". www.ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  15. ^ a b "MADAME HENGLER. - Colonial Times (Hobart, Tas. : 1828 - 1857) - 20 Feb 1846". Trove. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  16. ^ "Jul 09, 1822, page 4 - The Bury and Norwich Post at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com". www.newspapers.com. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  17. ^ "Jul 06, 1822, page 5 - Sunday Dispatch at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  18. ^ "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.
  19. ^ "MISCELLANEOUS EXTRACTS. - The Port Phillip Patriot and Morning Advertiser (Vic. : 1845 - 1848) - 23 Mar 1846". Trove. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  20. ^ "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.
  21. ^ "Le Nouvelliste: quotidien politique, littéraire, industriel et commercial / [gérant : A. Thiboust]". Gallica. 5 June 1852. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
  22. ^ "Ode to Madame Mengler, the Firework maker to Vauxhall. - The Hobart Town Courier (Tas. : 1827 - 1839) - 17 Apr 1830". Trove. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ "'Would that Its Tone Could Reach the Rich!'". Romantic Textualities. 14 February 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2025.