Cricket St Thomas Memories of Cricket St Thomas

[SlothBear]

As a child I had family in Somerset and we'd often visit Cricket St Thomas. I always liked the fact that even though I was a child I thought they exhibited fewer mainstream animals. Instead of lions and tigers they had jaguars and leopards.
It was also the first place I encountered free ranging lemurs. I have vague memories of the walled garden having a block of aviaries in an "L" shape in a corner which I think exhibited African fish eagles (in the corner aviary) and Blyth's hornbills in one of the aviaries to the side (is this accurate or am I mis-remembering?)

I've also read that there were Golden-headed quetzals in the tropical house (sadly my only memory of this was a koi pond).

I remember the Elephants and free ranging Golden pheasants you'd often see crossing the roads on the drive in.

It was/is a beautiful site for a wildlife collection and real shame it is no longer with us.

I've taken a look at the gallery but there's disappointingly few photographs from the collection in general but even fewer from the 80's and 90's. Do any members have any memories? Or perhaps able to share some images with us?

 

[NMM]

I had several visits when growing up in the 80s and early 90s. It was the second nearest zoo to me after Paignton.

I remember the elephants, which initially were in a small concrete yard but later moved to a much larger enclosure. Like the OP said the cats were leopards and jaguars as opposed to lions and tigers. I felt this was a nice contrast with Paignton which had lions and tigers. In terms of other species the only ones I can definitely recall are sea lions, zebras and camels.

I find Cotswold Wildlife Park reminds me of Cricket St Thomas in many ways. Both wildlife parks are in the grounds of a manor house, both used the walled garden for exhibiting smaller species and aviaries. Both have some very picturesque grounds. Cricket St Thomas had a river running through it with the paddocks for some of the larger animals either side.

 

[J C]

As a child I had family in Somerset and we'd often visit Cricket St Thomas. I always liked the fact that even though I was a child I thought they exhibited fewer mainstream animals. Instead of lions and tigers they had jaguars and leopards.
It was also the first place I encountered free ranging lemurs. I have vague memories of the walled garden having a block of aviaries in an "L" shape in a corner which I think exhibited African fish eagles (in the corner aviary) and Blyth's hornbills in one of the aviaries to the side (is this accurate or am I mis-remembering?)

I've also read that there were Golden-headed quetzals in the tropical house (sadly my only memory of this was a koi pond).

I remember the Elephants and free ranging Golden pheasants you'd often see crossing the roads on the drive in.

It was/is a beautiful site for a wildlife collection and real shame it is no longer with us.

I've taken a look at the gallery but there's disappointingly few photographs from the collection in general but even fewer from the 80's and 90's. Do any members have any memories? Or perhaps able to share some images with us?

If you take a look at some of the previous threads on here in the forum they might stir some memories

 

[NMM]

Another thought. How much damage did the whole Mr Blobby venture do to the park?

From what I remember there did seem to be a common misconception that the Blobbyland theme park had replaced the wildlife park. Even among those who knew there were still animals would have been people put off my the Blobbyland branding unless they had very young children, the target market for the theme park.

As Mr Blobby turned out to be a fly by night character who was only popular for a short while in the mid 90s this does seem to have been a huge mistake. Although not directly associated with the demise of the wildlife park, I can't help but feel it set it on the path that would eventually lead to the decision to get rid of the wildlife park and convert the house into a hotel.

 

[FBBird]

Cricket St Thomas had hummingbirds in the Tropical House, and may even have bred the odd one. They had Pink Pigeons, Germain’s Peacock Pheasants, Steller’s Sealions, both Camel species which produced a hybrid, rather a nice waterfowl collection, flock of Caribbean Flamingos, quite an innovative mixed species woodland lemur walkthrough. Lovely setting for a zoo, much missed

 

[Dassie rat]

ZTL says that Cricket St Thomas had the following:
Red-rumped cacique, white-throated laughing thrush and ruddy turtle dove: Currently kept at 2 ZTL zoos
Blue-streaked lory, Yucatan jay and African golden-breasted bunting: Currently kept at 1 ZTL zoo
Lesser green leafbird, Ghigi's grey peacock-pheasant, Gough moorhen, olive and rufous-backed* thrushes, black-capped white-eye*, Madagascar green-pigeon, Mexican violetear, Neumann's ring-necked parakeet, Rodrigues fody and blue-winged siva: Currently kept at no ZTL zoos

* Cricket St Thomas was 1 of only 2 ZTL zoos to keep the rufous-backed thrush and black-capped white-eye

 

[FBBird]

ZTL says that Cricket St Thomas had the following:
Red-rumped cacique, white-throated laughing thrush and ruddy turtle dove: Currently kept at 2 ZTL zoos
Blue-streaked lory, Yucatan jay and African golden-breasted bunting: Currently kept at 1 ZTL zoo
Lesser green leafbird, Ghigi's grey peacock-pheasant, Gough moorhen, olive and rufous-backed* thrushes, black-capped white-eye*, Madagascar green-pigeon, Mexican violetear, Neumann's ring-necked parakeet, Rodrigues fody and blue-winged siva: Currently kept at no ZTL zoos

* Cricket St Thomas was 1 of only 2 ZTL zoos to keep the rufous-backed thrush and black-capped white-eye

I remember those Blue-winged Sivas, in a long aviary on the right of the entrance to the walled garden. Also in that aviary were Red (Ruddy) Turtledoves, some of which came from me.
Also in the Walled Garden were regularly breeding European Lynx.

 

[Pertinax]

They also had Sitatunga antelope- they could wade in the river/stream, the only place I've seen this marsh-living antelope in such a setting. They also had Wapiti at one stage- not common in the UK, also Axis deer, American Bison and Prezwalski horses.

 

[okapis]

They also had Sitatunga antelope- they could wade in the river/stream, the only place I've seen this marsh-living antelope in such a setting. They also had Wapiti at one stage- not common in the UK, also Axis deer, American Bison and Prezwalski horses.

I to had some happy times at Cricket . I was told the Wapiti were not pure and had been crossed with Red Deer, I remember they had Lechwe, and also in the early days Dingo.

 

[TriUK]

I have strong memories of seeing the elephants bathing in the river. I loved that place and went only twice, but feel lucky to have done so.

 

[zooboy]

Another thought. How much damage did the whole Mr Blobby venture do to the park?

From what I remember there did seem to be a common misconception that the Blobbyland theme park had replaced the wildlife park. Even among those who knew there were still animals would have been people put off my the Blobbyland branding unless they had very young children, the target market for the theme park.

As Mr Blobby turned out to be a fly by night character who was only popular for a short while in the mid 90s this does seem to have been a huge mistake. Although not directly associated with the demise of the wildlife park, I can't help but feel it set it on the path that would eventually lead to the decision to get rid of the wildlife park and convert the house into a hotel.

Yes, the conception at the time was that the park had been taken over by Blobbyland and that the animals had been, or were being, phased out, so there was no incentive to go as a "zoo visitor". What was the animal collection like during the Blobbyland period? Was there I guidebook for Blobbyland - I have never heard of one?

 

[FBBird]

Yes, the conception at the time was that the park had been taken over by Blobbyland and that the animals had been, or were being, phased out, so there was no incentive to go as a "zoo visitor". What was the animal collection like during the Blobbyland period? Was there I guidebook for Blobbyland - I have never heard of one?

As I remember, the animal collection was unchanged during the Blobby period, apart from the (possibly avoidable?) shooting of the bull elephant Sahib/Fridolin. There was still a strong bird collection, all the hoofstock, primates and breeding Amur Leopards. Lemur walk was operating a few yards from Blobbyland

 

[TriUK]

Didn’t the hotel continue to operate the Lemur exhibits for a time after the zoo closed?

 

[okapis]

Yes, the conception at the time was that the park had been taken over by Blobbyland and that the animals had been, or were being, phased out, so there was no incentive to go as a "zoo visitor". What was the animal collection like during the Blobbyland period? Was there I guidebook for Blobbyland - I have never heard of one?

I never saw any guidebook for Blobbyland, but it was very popular with a lot of people coming, in later times Cricket had species like Sulawesi Macaque, SH Oryx, and bushdog, which I think may have come from Marwell.