Given out as a prize to a member of the audience at the end of a children’s entertainment show, this rocking horse is a poignant reminder of the disaster that occurred on 16 June 1883 in the Victoria Hall, Sunderland, when 183 children were tragically crushed to death. Shows of this kind, especially aimed at children of the poor, were examples of philanthropic or charitable activities common in Victorian Britain. The horse offers an opportunity to explore 19th century childhood, philanthropy and social reform.