Haggar was born in
Dedham, Essex, where he was apprenticed as a shipbuilder and later a watchmaker. An accomplished musician, Haggar left home at the age of eighteen and joined a troupe of travelling players, working as a stage carpenter. In 1870 he married Sarah Walton, daughter of Richard Walton proprietor of a travelling theatre. The Waltons were a well-known family of professional actors and pantomimists who had been in the entertaining business for many generations. Moving the theatre deeper into industrial Wales, Haggar found an audience that brought him an unprecedented level of prosperity. The remote villages of Wales welcomed the travelling theatre, known as 'The Castle Theatre', which by now had a repertoire of over a hundred Victorian melodramas and comedies, to which Haggar later included a portable photographic studio having acquired a plate camera. 'The Castle Theatre', his fit-up theatre and their props were originally drawn by horseback, later he purchased a
traction engine to do the job. The company travelled around mid and west Wales to the
south Wales valleys, wintering in
Aberdare. In 1897, on a trip to London, Haggar visited one of the early cinemas. Captivated by the show he bought a projector from opticians J. Wrench and Sons, for the price of £80–00, either that same year or in 1898. On 5 April 1898 he made his first public performance of his 'Bioscope' show at
Aberavon fair making £15–00 on the first night. The films shown were
Turn out of the London Fire Brigade (believed to be the 1897 Lumiére film) and
Train emerging from a Tunnel. He continued to take his show around the fairgrounds of South Wales and decided to give 'The Castle Theatre' to his eldest son William, while he focused his energies on promoting 'Haggar's Royal Electric Bioscope' show. The family motto of 'follow the coal' almost lead to Haggar's ruin, when the
coal strike of 1898 led to the Welsh miners forgoing the luxury of paid entertainment. ==Films==