We used to have monkeys in our African garden and zebras and elephants wandering through the grassland beyond the compound. Ilorin, the nearest town, meant 'town of the elephants' in the local language. Occasionally a leopard would make off with a goat. I grew up with such beasties and took them all for granted (plus the snakes and scorpions, of course).
For people living in the hills, dales, mill towns and big cities of north-west England, sheep, cattle and horses were about as exotic as it got...until they rode the charabanc or train into Blackpool on holiday and visited the Tower menagerie.
Legend has it that Dr. Cocker's Aquarium, Aviary and Menagerie, to give it its full title, was first established on the site in 1873 and functioned as a source of revenue while the Tower was being built around it in the early 1890s. When the Tower finally opened in 1894, the aquarium, aviary, menagerie and a permanent circus were among its major attractions for decades to come.
Its collection of birds and animals was regarded as one of the finest in the country in the first half of the last century. Apart from the extensive aviary, there was a monkey house with a variety of primates including chimpanzees and mandrills, a reptile enclosure containing crocodiles and turtles and an array of cages housing bears, cheetahs, hyenas, leopards, lions, a black panther, porcupines, sloth and tigers.
Visitors could wander round and marvel at the sights, sounds and smells in ornate surroundings, even take afternoon tea within view of the creatures on display. Regardless of modern-day views on the ethics of keeping wild animals in close confinement, the inhabitants of the Tower were, by all accounts, well cared for and bred quite successfully. It must have been an extraordinary thrill to encounter such exotic specimens for the first time.
Underneath the menagerie was the elephant house, elephants being a big attraction of the Tower circus. On early mornings when the tide was out, it was not unusual to see the elephants strolling on the sands for their daily constitutional. How fantastic must that have been?
I never visited the Tower menagerie. It finally closed on its centenary in 1973 following the opening of Blackpool Zoo, adjacent to Stanley Park. Now I can only ever visit it in my imagination...
Imaginary Menagerie
If the world possessed four far-flung corners,
in the great years of its waxing
Blackpool Tower would proudly stand
as the center of an earthly square
and gather to it, Noah-like,
fare from occident and orient,
antipodes, septentrion,
creatures sure to thrill
the mill-girl and her beau,
delight the pasty-faced young children
from the back streets of beyond,
amuse indulgent parents on a spree
and scare old spinsters sitting down at tea.
Furry frisson of the north,
majestic snarling of the south,
quivering bristle of the west
and powerful trumpet of the east -
here at the fecund centre of the world
how could anything compare
to the splendour of these beasts in their repair
in gilded cages in the air?
Oh to have seen it, heard it, smelt it,
felt the spell of that menagerie
in the tower by the sea,
then to have wandered
like the elephants,
free but not free
out on a wakes week,
feeling cool sand beneath bare feet...
Thanks for reading. Those of you who've been there, seen that - let me know what you think.
Have a good week, S ;-) Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook
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