Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show
Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show came to Horfield in September 1891 and caused quite a stir. The show was held in Mr Dare's field, shown in pink on the map opposite, which is the present site of the Bristol Rovers Memorial Stadium. The field later became known locally as Buffalo Bill's field. Between the 28 September and 3 October two, 2 hour shows were held daily at 3pm and 8pm, and general admission cost 1 shilling (12 pence in today's money). It was estimated that over 100,000 people paid a visit to the show ground over the course of the week.
Following the success of the shows trip to London in 1877, where Buffalo Bill performed in front of Queen Victoria, the show had returned for a larger tour of England. The tour which came to Bristol also went to Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Stoke-on-Trent, Nottingham, Birmingham, Cardiff, Portsmouth, Brighton, Croydon and Glasgow. Since 1877 the show had also travelled the principal cities of Europe, including Paris, Barcelona, Rome and throughout Italy and Germany. Visitors were guaranteed to see Buffalo Bill himself at every show, as well as famous acts like Annie Oakley 'the famous female shot', Johnny Baker the 'Cowboy Kid', and marksman Mr Claude L Daly, as well as Indian Chiefs No Neck, Short Bull, Kicking Bear and Lone Bull. Visitors to the show were treated to a range of performances, all designed to give an accurate portrayal of Indian and frontier life. Details of the program were given in a review of the opening night in the Bristol Evening News, 29 September 1891. This shows that the program ran along the following lines:
Thousands of country neighbours flocked to Bristol to see the show, and special trains were put on to get them all there and home again. It was noted in the Bristol Mercury that the official traffic returns for the Taff Vale Railway showed that passenger receipts had increased by £3000 in the week Bill visited. It also impacted the Bristol stock market and benefited local businesses. Indeed, some local businesses used the show to attract customers, such as Mr Alsop, a cabinet maker who invited visitors of the exhibition to his shop, placing his advert directly beneath that for the show! |