Belle Vue Zoological Gardens

Belle Vue Zoological Gardens stood on 35.75 acres between Kirkmanshulme Lane and Hyde Road in Manchester. John Jennison, a part-time gardener, opened it in 1836 after leasing the land for £135 a year. The site began as an aviary with a handful of parrots and soon grew into the third-largest zoo in the United Kingdom. Jennison added Italian gardens, lakes, mazes and hothouses, then filled them with elephants, lions and other African animals. A racecourse opened in 1847, and by 1848 visitors arrived by train from Manchester’s Longsight station. The gardens became one of Northern England’s most popular attractions, drawing over two million visitors a year at their peak. Jennison replaced subscription tickets with a general admission price of fourpence, later sixpence, to welcome a wider crowd. The Kings Hall opened in 1910 and hosted the Hallé Orchestra plus concerts by Jimi Hendrix, The Who and Led Zeppelin. Firework displays began in 1852, and the annual Christmas circus ran from 1922. The Bobs roller coaster reached speeds of 60 mph, while the Scenic Railway offered slower thrills. Today only a greyhound racing stadium and a snooker hall remain on the site. The zoo closed in 1977 after losing £100,000 a year, and the amusement park shut in 1980. The land was sold in 1982 and cleared by 1987. Visitors can still see the old racecourse route and the Firework Lake where an island once held a natural history museum. The Hyde Road entrance gate and the Stockport Road railway station site mark where crowds once gathered.