SAMUEL TAYLOR - THE ILKESTON GIANT

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One of our ongoing themes at Bygone Derbyshire is to feature Derbyshire 'characters'. Here local historian Peter Seddon acquaints himself with Samuel Taylor, whose unusually tall stature earned him the sobriquet the 'Ilkeston Giant'.

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In the 21st century it is by no means unusual to encounter someone over six feet tall. But in the nineteenth century - when average height was much less than it is today - even a 'six footer' would have stood out in a crowd.

So it's no wonder that Samuel Taylor (1816-1875) became something of a celebrity, for he attained the then astonishing height of 7 feet 4 inches - this is his story.

Samuel Taylor was born in Little Hallam, near Ilkeston, Derbyshire, in 1816. He was the son of a farmer, also Samuel Taylor, who himself was an imposing six feet nine. Yet Samuel's mother Ann was a mere five feet.

It became apparent in Samuel's childhood which set of genes had become dominant. By the age of 10 Sam stood at five feet ten inches. At 12 he was six feet four. By the age of 14 he had sprouted to six feet ten, and by adulthood he had attained his maximum height of seven feet four inches....and a half!

Of course this got him noticed in and around Ilkeston. But what it didn't get him was a 'normal job'. Employers felt that his height and ungainliness were qualities they could well do without, and he was unable to find employment through the normal channels.

The course of Samuel Taylor's life changed on a visit to Castle Donnington in 1832. His visit coincided with that of a travelling fair, the first he had ever seen. He was naturally attracted to the sideshow in which 'The Giant' was on display. But on paying his penny admission and entering the booth Sam was sorely disappointed.

The 'Giant' was a somewhat weedy specimen of about 30 years of age measuring in at a mere six feet three. Little wonder that when Sam Taylor strode in - aged only 16 and already seven feet plus - the gathered crowd soon began to gawp at him instead of the man they had paid to marvel at.

The showman in charge of the fair, a Mr. Reader, quickly realised his opportunity. After a little negotiation Sam Taylor was engaged as the new star attraction on handsome terms.

For some months he travelled around the country with the fair making a great impression on everybody who saw him. And thereby arose a problem. The proprietor of the fair had a daughter - 'Mademoiselle Reader glass blower extraordinaire' - who took rather a fancy to 'big Sam'.

This didn't please Mr. Reader at all - perhaps he feared a pregnant glassblower might be in the offing - and he gave Sam Taylor immediate notice. But Sam had reciprocated the girl's feelings and was in no mood for compromise. On the night after he had been sacked, when the fair was in Arbroath, the couple eloped to Montrose.

They were pursued there by the girl's irate father, who seized their luggage and put the local constabulary on the case. The father asked that an arrest be made, but when it was established that his daughter was fully 'consenting' the police declined to take action.

The 'Giant' and his adoring 'Glassblower' were duly wed, and only then did the girl's father have a change of heart. Once again donning his showman's hat - mindful of the revenue he was forsaking - he re-engaged Sam Taylor and made a handsome wedding gift of £5 to the newlywed couple.

For a further 12 months they continued to tour with the fair, and thereafter the couple set up in the show business on their own account. But what Sam Taylor had in inches he lacked in business acumen. The couple became ever less prosperous, and Sam decided to take an excavating job with a railway company.

But at that too he struggled to earn a living. Soon he took his fair back on the road, more successfully this time. On the strength of increased takings the couple bought a public house in Manchester. But again Sam Taylor's business skills were found wanting - too often he dipped into the till to share a glass with his customers, and before long the couple found themselves £100 in debt.

So out came the caravan once more - the 'Giant' and the 'Glassblower' were back on the road. Sam Taylor often visited Derbyshire with his travelling show, and had a particular fondness for the age-old event known as Ilkeston Statutes Fair. One of Sam's sons once said that whenever his father left Ilkeston he 'looked back until the very last moment until the town for which he had such a never-ending affection finally disappeared from view'.

It is appropriate then, that the 'Ilkeston Giant' is buried in the town.

In 1875, when packing up to leave a place in Oldham, he slipped and badly fractured his thigh. A month later he was admitted to Manchester Infirmary after complications had set in. Although he made rapid progress, he suffered an unexpected relapse, and died suddenly on 3 June 1875, aged 59, leaving his wife and two sons.

His huge coffin was taken by train to Ilkeston, and met at the Midland Station there by a large crowd and the Ilkeston Brass Band. The bells of St. Mary's Church rang a muffled peal, and from the Independent Chapel the body was taken to Stanton Road Cemetery.

Samuel Taylor was buried there not far from where he was born, and his memorial can be seen there to this day. On it is engraved a simple legend:

'In loving memory of Samuel Taylor, the Ilkeston Giant. Height 7' 4 1/2". Died June 3 1875 aged 59.'

The memorial was restored to its former glory and rededicated in 2008 by the Friends of Stanton Road Cemetery.

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