Incredible story of legendary 'lost circus' whose lost equipment was found in a dusty North Yorkshire barn

This travelling production, which will also be coming to Ripon, promises a nostalgic and genuinely magical live experience, bringing a piece of Yorkshire’s entertainment history back to life for a new generation.

The show will take place inside a small, traditional style big top, with an intentionally limited capacity of just 250 seats per performance, creating an intimate atmosphere where every audience member is close to the action.

The tour by The Great Yorkshire Circus will swing the way of Harrogate’s Valley Gardens from August 19-30 and Ripon Spa Park from September 2-6.

It is a minor miracle it is happening at all, for it was only a chance discovery in a second-hand bookshop which led to the revival of this long-forgotten travelling circus.

Theatre producer Jamie Hudson, of Yeadon Town Hall Theatre, stumbled across an old publication referencing a now vanished circus known as “The Yorkshire Circus”.

Intrigued by the detail and history within its pages, he began digging further.

Hidden inside the story was a clue that led to the last known storage location of the circus equipment.

Tucked away in a rural North Yorkshire barn sat the remains of the circus – old wagons, faded signage, costumes, props and equipment – and all left untouched for years.

Jamie Hudson said: "We were not just looking at a few props, this was a whole circus that had simply been packed away and forgotten about.

"It felt like stepping back in time."

Since then, over the past two years, the entire collection has been carefully restored, rebuilt and, where needed, recreated.

Scenery has been brought back to life, costumes remade, props repaired and a brand new production developed around the spirit of the original show.

The forthcoming tour by The Great Yorkshire Circus has been designed to capture the charm of a bygone era while still feeling fresh and exciting for modern audiences with classic circus skills and strong theatrical storytelling.

Featuring a mix of aerial performance, ground based acts, theatrical moments and music, the show is designed for children, families and ‘grown up children’ with ringmaster Jacob Phillips of Codswallop CIC.

Jamie said: The show is a really accessible way for young families to experience something live, captivating, fun and genuinely theatrical.

"You are not watching from a distance, you are part of it.

"That is where the magic of the circus really lives,”

Tickets will be on sale from on sale on Saturday, April 4 via: www.greatyorkshirecircus.com