THE historic halls of Oxford's sprawling colleges have produced numerous highly trained lawyers, writers and teachers but how many circus owners?

Well, one at least. Nell Gifford studied English at New College, Oxford, but didn't bother sending out any job applications when she graduated because she knew exactly what she wanted to do run her very own circus.

Five years ago, Nell, with her husband Toti, bought a small tent, a derelict showman's wagon and an old children's roundabout from Trade It newspaper and set about building up their own circus. Within a year, Giffords Circus was up and running and playing to sold-out audiences, even making an appearance in Tatler magazine.

"I fell in love with the circus when I was 18," says 30-year-old Nell, who is on the road when I catch up with her, moving her 30-strong circus from Barrington to a new site in Longborough.

"I loved the nomadic way of life, the colourful costumes and the different nationalities of people working in the circus. My cousin had a circus in America and I went to work over there for a month in my gap year I suppose I was running away from home. It was there that I decided I wanted to work in the circus."

But the level-headed Nell put her dream on hold to complete her Oxford degree, thinking it would come in useful somewhere along the line. It turned out to be a shrewd move, as she went on to write two books on the circus, the proceeds of which went towards financing the early stages of setting up the circus.

Nell is keen to distance herself from the bad press the circus genre got in the 70s, with many closing down as a result of the animal rights movement. Giffords Circus steers clear of the traditional caged lions and elephants on a lead and have only four performing horses.

"The circus started 200 years ago in London and had a strong tradition in this country," explains Nell "Now there has been a renaissance for the circus in other countries but we are lagging behind over here.

"We don't have wild animals at Giffords as I simply don't know anything about them and it is ignorance that causes problems. I know how to make a horse happy at the circus they have a good standard of care, including regular chiropractic treatment."

Giffords Circus couldn't be further from the image of tatty clowns and tired-looking animals from the circus' of yesteryear. Nell's circus is everything glamorous.

"Our aim was to create a magical, glamorous show that had a nostalgic feel and was of a high standard. We wanted a circus that was as valued as the opera or the theatre. We have gold medal-winning gymnasts, husband and wife team, Evelyn and Cristian Marinof from Romania. Evelyn does a triple forward somersault through the air and is caught by Cristian. Hardly anyone in the world can do that."

A new addition to Giffords is Tweedy the clown, otherwise known as Alan Digweed, who has been a circus clown for ten years and joined Nell's company just two months ago. After working with some of the larger circus' in the business, including Zippos, he is looking forward to the more intimate atmosphere at Giffords, which makes sure the audience is "close to all the action".

"I did lots of different jobs when I was younger but couldn't find anything I really liked," explains Alan, who is also on the move when I catch up with him, taking a break while driving his trapeze artist wife and their two-and-a-half-year-old daughter in their caravan (complete with washer, dryer, shower and every mod con) to the new site.

"I was meant to go to art school to study animation but I began to think I would rather be a cartoon myself than draw them. So I joined a circus and everything just clicked into place. I am always messing about, so it just came naturally for me."

Although Alan used to do the traditional clown routine with red nose, big shoes, full-on make-up and buckets of water, he is using the innovative attitude encouraged by Nell and Toti to branch out into a new act.

"Although the traditional clowning still goes down well, I wanted to revive eccentric dance that was popular in the variety shows and music halls of the 20s and 30s," he says.

"I still use the traditional pathos element that goes back to Chaplin. If you open up to the audience, it makes you more human and they can relate to you better, so when you do funny material, the audience feels they really know the character."

Unlike many of the circus acts, Alan can't practice his act in the privacy of his own room but tries out his new ideas on a live audience.

"Clowns need an audience to find out what works and what doesn't. You can't practice on your own like juggling. It is an ongoing process with clowning. You are always looking at new ways to make the audience laugh."

Giffords Circus comes to Tetsworth, from July 15 to 19. For more information visit www.giffordscircus.com. To book tickets, call 01242 572573.