Walk tall: the 1903 publicity stunt for Mademoiselle Florence saw her ‘globe walk’ all the way from London to Brighton, despite the often difficult conditions on the Edwardian roads
SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: Walk from London to Brighton, you say? And do it on top of a huge globe, you say? Why not, said circus performer ‘Mademoiselle Florence’, as DAVID MORGAN recounts the story of an extraordinary stunt from the early 20th Century
It was a busy night for the Croydon constabulary that June evening in 1903, with 80 officers required to keep the road clear around the Greyhound Hotel on the High Street.
The crowds were huge, and growing, awaiting the arrival of “Mademoiselle Florence”. This former performer in the famous circus of PT Barnum eventually appeared not long after 8 o’clock in the evening, exhausted from her efforts. She had set off earlier in the day from central London, almost 10 miles away, as part of an epic attempt to travel all the way from Westminster Bridge to Brighton, all the while balancing atop a 26-inch diameter globe.
Croydon was one of her planned stops.
Florence is thought to have been about 18 at the time of this ambitious Edwardian publicity stunt. The young woman from New Jersey set out on this journey for a wager, ahead of her being billed for upcoming performances at the Empire Theatre, Leicester Square. The $2,500 bet – worth about £50,000 today – was that she could complete the London to Brighton journey, a distance of about 52 miles, in six days. When she reached Croydon, it was the end of her second day, and she was already behind schedule.
Fascinating: The Illustrated London News was one of the publications which covered Florence’s epic journey, as she progressed through Brixton
Florence had travelled to England with her sister Queenie and her father, who described FLorence as “the pluckiest bloomin’ girl in the world!”
The plan was to appear on stage in the nation’s music halls as a speciality act. According to her publicity, Mademoiselle Florence was a globe walker “extraordinaire”. She began her London to Brighton challenge on the morning of June 15.
According to one report, the preparations for the challenge included having two spheres of differing weights. Both spheres were made of hollowed wood, covered in sheep’s hide. One weighed 20lb and was to be used on the uphill sections, of which there would be many along the Brighton Road. The other was much heavier, 75lb, and was to be used on the level gradients and the downhill sections.
Florence’s father and sister carried bags of sawdust that could be thrown over the surface of the globe when the roads – which were less well-maintained that today’s – were muddy so that Florence’s shoes could get the best grip on the ball.
What they couldn’t plan for was the British weather, even in June. When Florence crossed her start line in Westminster, it started to rain. Florence didn’t get very far. She had only just got past the shadow of Big Ben when she slipped off the globe. She managed to cross the river and reached the steps of St Thomas’ Hospital where she decided to stop as it was too difficult for her to keep her footing.
The next day, the weather was much more favourable. Florence and her little team set off at 5am. Newspaper reports stated that she was wearing a “blue blouse and skirt with a black yachting cap”. She made good time down Westminster Bridge Road and by 7 o’clock she had reached Kennington, accompanied by a steadily increasing crowd of admirers and a couple of policemen “to see fair play”.
‘Much exhausted’: a newspaper report of Florence’s arrival at Croydon’s Greyhound Hotel, her route cleared by 80 police
Florence passed Brixton Station by 9am and headed on towards Streatham, where she stopped for a rest. It was well-timed, because she missed a shower, but by 2.30pm the weather was fine enough for her to continue.
Her progress was made increasingly difficult, however, due to the close attentions of the ever-increasing crowd, who thronged around her. News of this strange sight had spread far and wide, and quickly, even though there were few telephones.
Florence continued through Streatham and Norbury, but it was slow going because of the uneven state of the roads. By the time she reached The Greyhound on Park Lane in Croydon, she was exhausted. As she approached the hotel, the policemen had great difficulty in clearing the road to allow her the space to arrive safely.
When the globe walker jumped down from the sphere outside the hotel, she hurt her foot, spraining her instep. She told the waiting crowd, though, that she was still confident of reaching Brighton.
On the morning of Day 3, June 17, the intrepid Florence set off at 5am again and left Croydon via Smitham Bottom, again with a crowd of excited followers. As she came to each milestone along the road, she stopped for a brief rest.
She passed through Redhill at 8.30am on the morning of June 18, the Thursday of that week. The Sussex and Surrey Courier reported that Florence and her party reached Crawley on June 19, where she rested.
It was on June 20 when she set off again, having until 6pm the following day to complete her journey to Brighton and win her bet. Between Patcham and Brighton she was met by huge crowds who turned out to greet her. One family was seen sitting outside their house with rugs thrown over them to keep them warm.
It was well after midnight when Florence reached her journey’s end. Despite the lateness of the hour, the crowds hadn’t dispersed and remained to cheer her to the finish. So dense was the throng at the Brighton Aquarium that when Florence jumped down off her globe, she couldn’t reach her carriage.
A police inspector came to her rescue, picked her up in his arms and carried her to the waiting vehicle.
Florence had won her bet.
Florence, her sister and her father travelled back to London where she opened in the variety show in Leicester Square. Many engagements followed. She was booked for the Hippodrome in Brighton in August. After that she was a star attraction on the bill at the Tivoli Theatre, Leeds. She was prevented from travelling to the theatre on her globe on that occasion by the local police force, who said that that the crowds were too large and were blocking up the roads.
As part of her nationwide tour, she appeared at the Derby Palace of Varieties, where newspaper reports stated: “Mademoiselle Florence is exceedingly clever and walks on her globe in masterly fashion while she waltzes, dances, skips and does some fine juggling feats.
“She works her globe over obstacles and in and around rows of bottles. She winds up her performance by walking the ball down a flight of stairs.”
Stage presence: Florence continued with her act for several years, as shown by the 1905 postcard
Another bet was made when she visited Ipswich in March 1905. Florence, on her globe, led a circus parade through the Suffolk town, with elephants, horses and artistes of many kinds to publicise their show. Miss Florence, as she was referred to in the press advert, was challenged to walk from Whitton, a village on the outskirts of the town, to the new Coliseum Theatre in the space of four hours because “her talent had been openly repudiated”. It had the sound of a stunt, intended to drum up some pre-show publicity.
A businessman from Ipswich and another from Newmarket put up the money, in this instance £25, which was matched by the directors of the theatre. There’s no report to be found of whether Florence won her bet.
Florence continued with her stage career for a time, including in pantomime in Exeter in 1906. By 1910, however, she had returned to the circus, working for EH Bostock’s Grand International Railroad Circus.
After which, little more was ever heard of Mademoiselle Florence. There’s not even any record to be found from contemporary reports of her deeds and her fame of whether she had a surname, and what it might have been. Nor is it known whether she settled in England, or returned to America.
But Mademoiselle Florence the globe walker will always be remembered for her visit to Croydon – “For One Night Only!”
If you would like a group tour of Croydon Minster or want to book a school visit, then ring the Minster Office on 020 688 8104 or go to the website on www.croydonminster.org and use the contact page
Some previous articles by David Morgan:
- Centre of excellence serving Croydon’s youth for 80 years
- Enter the Almshouses and travel back in time four centuries
- Anderson’s art captured Surrey greats and church monuments
- The church fire that consumed a thousand years of history
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