Can anybody tell me anything about the penguins I believe were once kept by Birds Eye Frozen Foods? Why did they keep penguins at all? What species were involved? Where was this? What setup did they have, and was it open to the public? Presumably they don't penguins anymore - or do they? I don't know if this topic has already been covered in another thread. My apologies if it has, and if so please direct me to the previous thread.
Penguins at Birds Eye Frozen Foods
- Thread starter zooman64
- Start date
I was intrigued by your question and found this information about the former headquarters of Bird's Eye. The owner had a menagerie with penguins, flamingos, and alligators. All of the animals went to the London Zoo this information says:
1271706 - The National Heritage List for England | English Heritage
Here's some video of it! It looks like a gentoo and maybe some Humboldt's or African penguins (can't tell): http://www.britishpathe.com/video/typists-treat-aka-penguin-pool-for-typists/query/walton
Thank you, DavidBrown, for the extremely interesting information on Birds Eye. I can't remember where I'd heard that Birds Eye had penguins, but I knew I'd read or heard it somewhere. I must say the idea of giving its workers a menagerie of animals to look at from the office windows is quite progressive, and certainly a more pleasing diversion than the sculptures and water features that most companies favour, but, speaking for myself, I doubt I could have got much work done in that situation. I'd have spent too much time looking at the antics of the penguins and flamingos.
Here's a short article I wrote for The Bartlett Society Newsletter.
I first found out about penguins being kept at Birds Eye through talking to a visitor at Living Coasts, which prompted me to do some research and find out some more.
Birds Eye Offices, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey - Penguins, Flamingoes and Alligators!
As a volunteer at Living Coasts in Torquay one of my varied tasks is to cover the tea and lunch breaks of the ‘Penguin Patroller’. The African and Macaroni penguins are able to roam in the public areas of their walk-through enclosure within view of the Penguin Patroller who is there to ensure that they mingle without incident with the visiting public (and vice-versa). During my time there I am lucky enough to chat to many people and find out many interesting facts about the site in previous incarnations, the local area, and, as in this case, places further afield.
I was lucky enough to briefly chat to a visitor over the summer who was an ex-employee at the offices of Birds Eye in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey. She told me that penguins used to be kept there in the outdoor courtyards of the office building and that these were King or Emperor penguins – she named these species as she said that the penguins were the type that ‘held their eggs on their feet’ and were much larger than the two species she saw at Living Coasts.
I passed this on to members of staff at Living Coasts but they didn’t really believe what she had said, thinking that it would be quite a strange thing to have happened. I didn’t see any reason to disbelieve what the visitor had told me though and a while later, whilst discussing various other matters by email with some Bartlett Society members; I mentioned what I had been told. A better reaction was received by them, as all in the Society know that anything is possible in the history of animal keeping, and one of the members ound a great link backing up this information, including a great Pathé newsreel film of the site. So I thought that I would produce a short article for the newsletter. The following information comes from a variety of internet sources, which I have listed.
Shortened Grade II Listed Building description and aerial photo,
showing the two courtyards, from
Birds Eye (Including Courtyard, Water Garden Features and Front Pool Surrounds) - Walton-on-Thames - Surrey - England | British Listed Buildings
“Office building with surrounds to pool in front and concrete features to courtyard water gardens. 1960-61. Sir John Burnet, Tait and Partners. Concrete frame with cladding of glass and natural anodised aluminum on dark blue vitreous enameled infill panels. … Entrance hall with open tread staircase (maybe where the alligator was kept? – see ex-employee info below) and marble cladding. Two internal courtyards retain original water features with concrete pool surrounds, one with cantilevered concrete platforms at various levels, the other with square board-marked concrete pillars. Concrete surrounds to 'L' shaped pool adjacent to front facade of building. One of the first prestige offices to be built for a firm moving out of London and a building of high architectural quality.”
Information from ex-employees on a Walton-on-Thames internet forum about the building and the animals kept there.
walton-on-thames.org • Index page - ‘search’ using ‘birds eye’ / ‘birds eye penguins’
“Walton Court is a Grade 2 listed building (the biggest luminous concrete structure still occupied in Britain). The building was also a delight inside. Originally full of small offices, the designers had anticipated open plan and subsequently opened it up. It used to be very tastefully designed colour wise with sea greens and soft blues etc. and huge windows emitted loads of light. Even at the heart of the building the offices overlooked large open quadrangles with interesting plants.
In the early days, the quadrangles were full of penguins! There was a small pool under the staircase which housed a small alligator - I kid you not. Forgot to mention the other quadrangle contained lots of lovely pink Flamingoes strutting around! For many years Birds Eye relentlessly cut back staff numbers and the Penguins' food bill was huge ( they were not keen on fish fingers) so they were despatched to Southampton Zoo like the other livestock.”
British Pathé Website.
Typist's Treat Aka Penguin Pool For Typists - British Path
This link provides a fantastic (extremely of its time) Pathé newsreel film showing both the penguin and flamingo pool and their inhabitants. As this is a site that sells the Pathé clips you may just have to watch a short advert before the clip plays. The accompanying blurb for the clip states “Interior of office, C/U of woman's hands typing. Camera tilts up to show the girl typing. The company wanted to give their staff something pleasant to look at through the office windows so they have installed a penguin pool. Various shots of a man feeding the penguins while the typist looks out of the window. There are a few flamingos too!”
From looking at the film it can be seen that the pools do not contain King or Emperor penguins, as the ex-employee I chatted to had stated, but who knows what other species of penguins may have been held in the past before, or even after, this film was shot? The Walton-on-Thames forum does not provide any additional information on this as the contributors just state ‘penguins’ in their posts. She could be correct though in saying that the penguins held were bigger than the Africans or Macaronis at Living Coasts as I am sure that as well as Africans or Humboldt’s (I can never tell the difference) there does seem to be a juvenile Gentoo shown in the pool. Whichever penguin species were kept, I am just glad that I got to chat to the visitor and gain an insight into this little ‘out of the ordinary’ animal collection.
Upon reading one comment on the web that said the animals went to Southampton Zoo, a Bartlett Society member added the following comment - “…that is interesting as it makes me think therefore the animals could have also come from Southampton Zoo. Chipperfields imported lots of penguins (mainly from the Falkland Islands) and they did include Kings, so PERHAPS the person you met was correct on that species too. All I can say is that a king penguin would not have been likely to survive long in that facility.”
Birds Eye no longer have their offices at the Walton Court building but planning permission has been granted to refurbish the existing building and replace an original 1963 annex with a brand new three-storey modern addition, forming a new public court in the space between the two buildings. Even though the existing courtyards and pools will have to be kept, as they are part of the Grade II listing, I doubt that there will be any penguins, flamingoes or alligators included in the plans!
I first found out about penguins being kept at Birds Eye through talking to a visitor at Living Coasts, which prompted me to do some research and find out some more.
Birds Eye Offices, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey - Penguins, Flamingoes and Alligators!
As a volunteer at Living Coasts in Torquay one of my varied tasks is to cover the tea and lunch breaks of the ‘Penguin Patroller’. The African and Macaroni penguins are able to roam in the public areas of their walk-through enclosure within view of the Penguin Patroller who is there to ensure that they mingle without incident with the visiting public (and vice-versa). During my time there I am lucky enough to chat to many people and find out many interesting facts about the site in previous incarnations, the local area, and, as in this case, places further afield.
I was lucky enough to briefly chat to a visitor over the summer who was an ex-employee at the offices of Birds Eye in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey. She told me that penguins used to be kept there in the outdoor courtyards of the office building and that these were King or Emperor penguins – she named these species as she said that the penguins were the type that ‘held their eggs on their feet’ and were much larger than the two species she saw at Living Coasts.
I passed this on to members of staff at Living Coasts but they didn’t really believe what she had said, thinking that it would be quite a strange thing to have happened. I didn’t see any reason to disbelieve what the visitor had told me though and a while later, whilst discussing various other matters by email with some Bartlett Society members; I mentioned what I had been told. A better reaction was received by them, as all in the Society know that anything is possible in the history of animal keeping, and one of the members ound a great link backing up this information, including a great Pathé newsreel film of the site. So I thought that I would produce a short article for the newsletter. The following information comes from a variety of internet sources, which I have listed.
Shortened Grade II Listed Building description and aerial photo,
showing the two courtyards, from
Birds Eye (Including Courtyard, Water Garden Features and Front Pool Surrounds) - Walton-on-Thames - Surrey - England | British Listed Buildings
“Office building with surrounds to pool in front and concrete features to courtyard water gardens. 1960-61. Sir John Burnet, Tait and Partners. Concrete frame with cladding of glass and natural anodised aluminum on dark blue vitreous enameled infill panels. … Entrance hall with open tread staircase (maybe where the alligator was kept? – see ex-employee info below) and marble cladding. Two internal courtyards retain original water features with concrete pool surrounds, one with cantilevered concrete platforms at various levels, the other with square board-marked concrete pillars. Concrete surrounds to 'L' shaped pool adjacent to front facade of building. One of the first prestige offices to be built for a firm moving out of London and a building of high architectural quality.”
Information from ex-employees on a Walton-on-Thames internet forum about the building and the animals kept there.
walton-on-thames.org • Index page - ‘search’ using ‘birds eye’ / ‘birds eye penguins’
“Walton Court is a Grade 2 listed building (the biggest luminous concrete structure still occupied in Britain). The building was also a delight inside. Originally full of small offices, the designers had anticipated open plan and subsequently opened it up. It used to be very tastefully designed colour wise with sea greens and soft blues etc. and huge windows emitted loads of light. Even at the heart of the building the offices overlooked large open quadrangles with interesting plants.
In the early days, the quadrangles were full of penguins! There was a small pool under the staircase which housed a small alligator - I kid you not. Forgot to mention the other quadrangle contained lots of lovely pink Flamingoes strutting around! For many years Birds Eye relentlessly cut back staff numbers and the Penguins' food bill was huge ( they were not keen on fish fingers) so they were despatched to Southampton Zoo like the other livestock.”
British Pathé Website.
Typist's Treat Aka Penguin Pool For Typists - British Path
This link provides a fantastic (extremely of its time) Pathé newsreel film showing both the penguin and flamingo pool and their inhabitants. As this is a site that sells the Pathé clips you may just have to watch a short advert before the clip plays. The accompanying blurb for the clip states “Interior of office, C/U of woman's hands typing. Camera tilts up to show the girl typing. The company wanted to give their staff something pleasant to look at through the office windows so they have installed a penguin pool. Various shots of a man feeding the penguins while the typist looks out of the window. There are a few flamingos too!”
From looking at the film it can be seen that the pools do not contain King or Emperor penguins, as the ex-employee I chatted to had stated, but who knows what other species of penguins may have been held in the past before, or even after, this film was shot? The Walton-on-Thames forum does not provide any additional information on this as the contributors just state ‘penguins’ in their posts. She could be correct though in saying that the penguins held were bigger than the Africans or Macaronis at Living Coasts as I am sure that as well as Africans or Humboldt’s (I can never tell the difference) there does seem to be a juvenile Gentoo shown in the pool. Whichever penguin species were kept, I am just glad that I got to chat to the visitor and gain an insight into this little ‘out of the ordinary’ animal collection.
Upon reading one comment on the web that said the animals went to Southampton Zoo, a Bartlett Society member added the following comment - “…that is interesting as it makes me think therefore the animals could have also come from Southampton Zoo. Chipperfields imported lots of penguins (mainly from the Falkland Islands) and they did include Kings, so PERHAPS the person you met was correct on that species too. All I can say is that a king penguin would not have been likely to survive long in that facility.”
Birds Eye no longer have their offices at the Walton Court building but planning permission has been granted to refurbish the existing building and replace an original 1963 annex with a brand new three-storey modern addition, forming a new public court in the space between the two buildings. Even though the existing courtyards and pools will have to be kept, as they are part of the Grade II listing, I doubt that there will be any penguins, flamingoes or alligators included in the plans!
Part Two was written after responses from Bartlett Society members to my original article:
Birds Eye Offices, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey - Penguins, Flamingos and Alligators! Part Two
Following on from my original article in the January 2011 Newsletter I received the following email from a Bartlett Society member: “I was fascinated and very surprised to read your account about the animals at the Birds Eye building, I lived in and around Walton for much of my childhood, my parents still live about ten minutes around the corner from the building so I am very familiar with it but still I knew nothing about your amazing discovery. I saw the footage you mentioned on the Pathé news website, absolutely incredible! I agree there does appear to be a young Gentoo in with them, to me they look like Humboldt Penguins but it is hard to be certain. I have asked my family, who are still in Walton, if they could keep an eye out for anything more on this subject as they were equally fascinated. Surely there must be something more on this somewhere!?”
So, I thought that I would try to find out more about this discovery and made contact with Birds Eye through their website, sending them my original article. Rebecca Bradley, Archives and Records Management Assistant at Unilever, Port Sunlight, where the Birds Eye archives are held, sent me a very interesting and informative document - “History and Analysis of the Courtyard Gardens at Birds Eye Walls Head Office Walton on Thames” prepared by Elizabeth Banks Associates Ltd (Landscape design, landscape planning and countryside management), July 1995.
I have picked out the relevant information from this document and will answer some of my questions asked in the original article.
“History and Analysis of the Courtyard Gardens at Birds Eye Walls Head Office Walton on Thames”
Elizabeth Banks Associates Ltd, July 1995.
Introduction
Birds Eye Wall’s commissioned Elizabeth Banks Associates in April 1995 to prepare a short history of the development and design of the courtyard gardens at their Head Office in Walton on Thames as they were contemplating on how they might improve the layout of the gardens to make them more attractive for people working in the offices.
Synopsis of the History of the Site
The pair of internal courtyards were initially laid out in 1961-62 and first altered in 1965 when it was decided to introduce birds – flamingoes and penguins. This necessitated several important changes, including the screening, and subsequent total enclosure of the courtyards so as to ‘overcome the possibility of dogs, cats and the like from entering the courtyard’, and to keep the birds contained as well as the removal of several of the garden features and materials, and the addition of new ones to adapt the spaces for their new ‘livestock’.
During the period in which the birds were resident there were numerous modifications made to the courtyards to enhance their habitat. For instance, in the Monolith Garden (east) aluminum ‘penguin ramps’ were installed in the pools; and the pebbles, flints and turf which were being eaten and/or damaged by the birds were removed. In the Japanese Garden (west), boulders and small stones in the pools and gardens were removed upon the advice of the consulting member of the Zoological Society to prevent the flamingos from breaking their legs; and makeshift timber housing was erected beneath the concrete platforms to form flamingo ‘huts’.
There are photographs of the two courtyards in the report but unfortunately these would not photocopy well enough to reproduce in this article. The photograph of the east Courtyard does confirm the presence of a King Penguin, the main question of my original article, and this will also be confirmed later.
After the penguins were sold in 1975 the east courtyard was reclaimed. Two of the former platforms have since been concealed by erecting raised planters around them. The former pools have been drained, and stand empty.
The west courtyard was vacated by the flamingos in 1990, and has since undergone minor new planting.
Redevelopment of the Courtyards Gardens: 1965 to present
In early 1965 the Chairman of Birds Eye Foods launched a campaign to introduce ‘livestock’ into the courtyards. Although considerable research was carried out by the office administration and the in-house architects department, the new birds and reptiles brought various unforeseen and sometimes undesirable changes to the gardens.
The custom of introducing birds into unexpected places, which was revived in the late 1950s and early 1960s, had a long and distinguished history. It was, nonetheless, a bold and innovative gesture on the part of Birds Eye to place flamingos and penguins into the courtyards of the suburban office premises in Walton. There was at the time a vogue for fashionable restaurants and nightclubs to introduce exotic birds and reptiles to enhance the exotic character of their surroundings – such as the pool of reptiles in the Valbonne in Warwick Street, and penguins and flamingos at Biba’s in Kensington. This craze was also fuelled by the sets in many of the James Bond films which were being screened across the country from the early 1960s.
The results of such displays were often disastrous: at Biba’s the penguins were frequently dying and were replaced; and the alligators in the artificial pools at Vabonne – like those in the lobby at Birds Eye – quickly outgrew their habitat and were removed. There were, moreover, problems of maintenance and expense.
The livestock files indicate that after the birds were introduced that every effort was made to keep costs to a minimum; only minor superficial changes were made to the gardens, and where new construction was necessary (i.e. bird huts) the original intention to have them architect-designed was superseded by the wish to erect flimsy timber housing.
Maintenance of the fabric was often problematic. Bird excrement stained the structures paving and the platforms, and the planting also suffered their depredations. Furthermore, health and safety standards invoked by the veterinary consultants necessitated putting in place a more intensive maintenance programme than would otherwise have been required for the courtyards to function as originally intended. The maintenance was carried out by workers in the maintenance department, with specific responsibilities assigned to interested individuals.
Inevitably the birds were evicted – the penguins left in 1975 and the flamingos in 1990 – with the result that the courtyards could be cleansed of the features which were installed for their benefit. The gardens were not, however, refurbished or restored; but new raised planters were formed and plants inserted in attempts to revivify the spaces. The gardens appear even more forlorn in their present state as the pools have been drained.
Appraisal of the Gardens
When Birds Eye Foods decided to relocate its Head Office to Walton on Thames in 1958 it was among the first companies to abandon its Central London presence for a suburban context.
The building remains to this day an outstanding intact expression of the International Style in Britain. Although many of the garden features do not function with the same technical perfection which they used to, they still evoke their early 1960s character.
The integrity of the designs of the internal courtyards were always considered to be important to Birds Eye. The changes which took place were temporary, and they were generally superficial. Memos and letters in the company archives suggest that the architects department, in particular, felt it was imprudent to engage in ‘radical and permanent alterations’ to the courtyards. Mr. K.S. Scott, Company Architect, remarked with respect to making alterations in the monolith courtyard in 1965: “We are not happy at all with the proposal that we should endeavour to demolish one or two of the existing monoliths. These are substantial structures of reinforced concrete and would certainly take some moving. I fear that inevitably such work would cause disturbance to the office and should be avoided if possible. Furthermore, once the monoliths are removed then it would be a major operation to replace them if we should at any time in the future have second thoughts about keeping penguins… You will appreciate I’m sure that I am unable to agree with your decision to construct something additional in the courtyard, because it is already complete in itself, as designed, it does not require additions.”
This prudence has, in fact, paid off. The exotic fowl have now been evicted and the courtyards remain relatively intact.
Birds Eye Wall’s: Courtyard Gardens
Walton on Thames
Chronology
1958 Executive decision to move Head Office out of Central London (from a variety of buildings around Hesketh House, Portman Square, W1).
1960 Walton on Thames site bought; formerly allotment gardens owned by a private trust.
1961 March: building contract signed; work began on site at the end of same month.
1962 July: New Head Office at Walton on Thames opened. Over 550 persons were employed at the new Head Office.
1965 Spring: Birds Eye architects visit London Zoo and Chessington Zoo to discuss ‘living conditions’ of birds for the ‘Penguin Development’ (a colony) in Head Office courtyards.
June: First draft of proposed list of birds for the courtyards compiled by the Chairman of Birds Eye includes: King Penguins, flamingos, Pelicans, Baikal Seals and Gannets. Additions to landscapes being proposed to accommodate flamingos and penguins.
July: First mention of proposal to place reptiles in the ‘understairs pool’ in the Main Entrance; discussions begin regards ‘Housing for Penguins and Flamingos’.
Temporary gate in the Japanese garden removed; ‘ceramic screen’ (coloured concrete ‘screen wall unit’) dismantled and rebuilt; chicken-wire screens thrown up across the entire lengths of the southern sides of the two courtyards (then open); and ‘chain link’ fencing carried up full height of the ‘wall’. Stones and pebbles removed from Flamingo garden.
1967 First consignment of Humboldt penguins arrived from the Falkland Islands for the Penguin Garden. Birds kept and fed by the Maintenance Department; one individual charged with keeping an eye on the birds. Penguins fed with herrings and sprats supplied by Suffolk-based Birds Eye wet fish operation.
February: report from Mr. Yealland of Zoological Society, London on recommended changes to the garden courtyards to create a better habitat for the birds.
August: plans been drawn up for redesign of the southwest courtyard for a new ‘Flamingo Pool’
1968 June: Inventory of birds and reptiles at the Head Office
1. ‘Penguin Garden’: 4 Gentoo Penguins; (as proposed in first article) 4 Humbolt Penguins;
2. ‘Flamingo Garden’: 2 Chilean Flamingos; 2 Cuban Flamingos; 2 Carolina Ducks; and 2 Mandarin Ducks;
3. ‘Understairs-Pool’: 4 Caiman Alligators; 2 Snapper Turtles; and 2 Terrapins.
1969 February: Fifteen penguins in Monolith Courtyard: 4 King Penguins, 4 Humbolt Penguins and 7 Gentoo Penguins (insured for a total value of £1,600). More penguins arrived shortly thereafter from the Falklands.
September: Addition of Red-crested Pochard and Snow Goose to Penguin Garden; small stones and turf removed from courtyards.
1971 July: Sprinkler introduced to Penguin courtyard to remedy ‘cracked, infected feet in the birds’. Fountains installed to circulate water; water in pools changed twice a week.
December: Alligators sold.
1972 April: Penguin egg hoax.
(No further details given but most probably an ‘April Fool’?)
1975 Penguins sold for total of £500 to the Zoological Gardens, Southampton (total 11 penguins: 2 Kings and 9 Humbolt Penguins; the remainder had died); Terrapins also sold.
1987 Nichols hired for garden maintenance after the Great Storm. Maintenance Department relieved of most garden duties.
1990 Flamingos relocated to Rodes Bird Gardens, Somerset. Three of the original four were sent – one died of arthritis shortly before being taken to the sanctuary.
Raised planter formed in Flamingo Courtyard by disguising concrete platforms; seating placed in courtyards on a seasonal basis for first time. Employees had previously been discouraged from using the courtyards.
1994 Winter: pools drained in both courtyards.
Main Contractors and Suppliers
Bird and Reptile Suppliers and Veterinary Pathology
Tyseley Pet Stores Limited, Birmingham
Boyd, Oliver and Ball, Veterinary Surgeons, Walton on Thames
Mansai Laboratories Limited, Weybridge
Further details from an accompanying information sheet from the Birds Eye archives
‘…two ornamental internal courtyards, which in the 1960s housed a quartet of penguins and a quartet of flamingos which were looked after by Walton’s ‘animal man’, Bill South. The Head Office also had two alligators, which by 1972 had grown too large to be kept in the pool at Walton, and were taken on by a private collector in Edinburgh.’
Answers to questions asked in original article:
Did Birds Eye in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey keep King or Emperor penguins?
King Penguins.
Which other species of penguins were kept?
Humbolt and Gentoo Penguins.
Did the penguins come from Chipperfields, via Southampton Zoo?
Although this is not stated anywhere in the document, stated neither in the chronology or list of main contractors and suppliers, a Bartlett Society member believes that ‘…from the Falkland Islands’ “…may well have been via Chipperfield as, I think, he was the only person importing into the UK at the time.”
Did the King Penguins survive for long?
From the details in the chronology it could be said that as least two King Penguins may have lasted six years in the courtyards. Four arrived in 1969 and two were sold to Southampton Zoo in 1975, but this can not be proved as it also states in 1969 that ‘More penguins arrived shortly thereafter from the Falklands’ without giving any further information of the species involved.
Internet sources used for first article:
Shortened Grade II Listed Building description and aerial photo:
Birds Eye (Including Courtyard, Water Garden Features and Front Pool Surrounds) - Walton-on-Thames - Surrey - England | British Listed Buildings
Information from ex-employees on a Walton-on-Thames internet forum about the building and the animals kept there.
walton-on-thames.org • Index page - ‘search’ using ‘birds eye’ / ‘birds eye penguins’
British Pathé Website:
Typist's Treat Aka Penguin Pool For Typists - British Path
This link provides a fantastic (extremely of its time) Pathé newsreel film showing both the penguin and flamingo pool and their inhabitants. As this is a site that sells the Pathé clips you may just have to watch a short advert before the clip plays.
Birds Eye Offices, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey - Penguins, Flamingos and Alligators! Part Two
Following on from my original article in the January 2011 Newsletter I received the following email from a Bartlett Society member: “I was fascinated and very surprised to read your account about the animals at the Birds Eye building, I lived in and around Walton for much of my childhood, my parents still live about ten minutes around the corner from the building so I am very familiar with it but still I knew nothing about your amazing discovery. I saw the footage you mentioned on the Pathé news website, absolutely incredible! I agree there does appear to be a young Gentoo in with them, to me they look like Humboldt Penguins but it is hard to be certain. I have asked my family, who are still in Walton, if they could keep an eye out for anything more on this subject as they were equally fascinated. Surely there must be something more on this somewhere!?”
So, I thought that I would try to find out more about this discovery and made contact with Birds Eye through their website, sending them my original article. Rebecca Bradley, Archives and Records Management Assistant at Unilever, Port Sunlight, where the Birds Eye archives are held, sent me a very interesting and informative document - “History and Analysis of the Courtyard Gardens at Birds Eye Walls Head Office Walton on Thames” prepared by Elizabeth Banks Associates Ltd (Landscape design, landscape planning and countryside management), July 1995.
I have picked out the relevant information from this document and will answer some of my questions asked in the original article.
“History and Analysis of the Courtyard Gardens at Birds Eye Walls Head Office Walton on Thames”
Elizabeth Banks Associates Ltd, July 1995.
Introduction
Birds Eye Wall’s commissioned Elizabeth Banks Associates in April 1995 to prepare a short history of the development and design of the courtyard gardens at their Head Office in Walton on Thames as they were contemplating on how they might improve the layout of the gardens to make them more attractive for people working in the offices.
Synopsis of the History of the Site
The pair of internal courtyards were initially laid out in 1961-62 and first altered in 1965 when it was decided to introduce birds – flamingoes and penguins. This necessitated several important changes, including the screening, and subsequent total enclosure of the courtyards so as to ‘overcome the possibility of dogs, cats and the like from entering the courtyard’, and to keep the birds contained as well as the removal of several of the garden features and materials, and the addition of new ones to adapt the spaces for their new ‘livestock’.
During the period in which the birds were resident there were numerous modifications made to the courtyards to enhance their habitat. For instance, in the Monolith Garden (east) aluminum ‘penguin ramps’ were installed in the pools; and the pebbles, flints and turf which were being eaten and/or damaged by the birds were removed. In the Japanese Garden (west), boulders and small stones in the pools and gardens were removed upon the advice of the consulting member of the Zoological Society to prevent the flamingos from breaking their legs; and makeshift timber housing was erected beneath the concrete platforms to form flamingo ‘huts’.
There are photographs of the two courtyards in the report but unfortunately these would not photocopy well enough to reproduce in this article. The photograph of the east Courtyard does confirm the presence of a King Penguin, the main question of my original article, and this will also be confirmed later.
After the penguins were sold in 1975 the east courtyard was reclaimed. Two of the former platforms have since been concealed by erecting raised planters around them. The former pools have been drained, and stand empty.
The west courtyard was vacated by the flamingos in 1990, and has since undergone minor new planting.
Redevelopment of the Courtyards Gardens: 1965 to present
In early 1965 the Chairman of Birds Eye Foods launched a campaign to introduce ‘livestock’ into the courtyards. Although considerable research was carried out by the office administration and the in-house architects department, the new birds and reptiles brought various unforeseen and sometimes undesirable changes to the gardens.
The custom of introducing birds into unexpected places, which was revived in the late 1950s and early 1960s, had a long and distinguished history. It was, nonetheless, a bold and innovative gesture on the part of Birds Eye to place flamingos and penguins into the courtyards of the suburban office premises in Walton. There was at the time a vogue for fashionable restaurants and nightclubs to introduce exotic birds and reptiles to enhance the exotic character of their surroundings – such as the pool of reptiles in the Valbonne in Warwick Street, and penguins and flamingos at Biba’s in Kensington. This craze was also fuelled by the sets in many of the James Bond films which were being screened across the country from the early 1960s.
The results of such displays were often disastrous: at Biba’s the penguins were frequently dying and were replaced; and the alligators in the artificial pools at Vabonne – like those in the lobby at Birds Eye – quickly outgrew their habitat and were removed. There were, moreover, problems of maintenance and expense.
The livestock files indicate that after the birds were introduced that every effort was made to keep costs to a minimum; only minor superficial changes were made to the gardens, and where new construction was necessary (i.e. bird huts) the original intention to have them architect-designed was superseded by the wish to erect flimsy timber housing.
Maintenance of the fabric was often problematic. Bird excrement stained the structures paving and the platforms, and the planting also suffered their depredations. Furthermore, health and safety standards invoked by the veterinary consultants necessitated putting in place a more intensive maintenance programme than would otherwise have been required for the courtyards to function as originally intended. The maintenance was carried out by workers in the maintenance department, with specific responsibilities assigned to interested individuals.
Inevitably the birds were evicted – the penguins left in 1975 and the flamingos in 1990 – with the result that the courtyards could be cleansed of the features which were installed for their benefit. The gardens were not, however, refurbished or restored; but new raised planters were formed and plants inserted in attempts to revivify the spaces. The gardens appear even more forlorn in their present state as the pools have been drained.
Appraisal of the Gardens
When Birds Eye Foods decided to relocate its Head Office to Walton on Thames in 1958 it was among the first companies to abandon its Central London presence for a suburban context.
The building remains to this day an outstanding intact expression of the International Style in Britain. Although many of the garden features do not function with the same technical perfection which they used to, they still evoke their early 1960s character.
The integrity of the designs of the internal courtyards were always considered to be important to Birds Eye. The changes which took place were temporary, and they were generally superficial. Memos and letters in the company archives suggest that the architects department, in particular, felt it was imprudent to engage in ‘radical and permanent alterations’ to the courtyards. Mr. K.S. Scott, Company Architect, remarked with respect to making alterations in the monolith courtyard in 1965: “We are not happy at all with the proposal that we should endeavour to demolish one or two of the existing monoliths. These are substantial structures of reinforced concrete and would certainly take some moving. I fear that inevitably such work would cause disturbance to the office and should be avoided if possible. Furthermore, once the monoliths are removed then it would be a major operation to replace them if we should at any time in the future have second thoughts about keeping penguins… You will appreciate I’m sure that I am unable to agree with your decision to construct something additional in the courtyard, because it is already complete in itself, as designed, it does not require additions.”
This prudence has, in fact, paid off. The exotic fowl have now been evicted and the courtyards remain relatively intact.
Birds Eye Wall’s: Courtyard Gardens
Walton on Thames
Chronology
1958 Executive decision to move Head Office out of Central London (from a variety of buildings around Hesketh House, Portman Square, W1).
1960 Walton on Thames site bought; formerly allotment gardens owned by a private trust.
1961 March: building contract signed; work began on site at the end of same month.
1962 July: New Head Office at Walton on Thames opened. Over 550 persons were employed at the new Head Office.
1965 Spring: Birds Eye architects visit London Zoo and Chessington Zoo to discuss ‘living conditions’ of birds for the ‘Penguin Development’ (a colony) in Head Office courtyards.
June: First draft of proposed list of birds for the courtyards compiled by the Chairman of Birds Eye includes: King Penguins, flamingos, Pelicans, Baikal Seals and Gannets. Additions to landscapes being proposed to accommodate flamingos and penguins.
July: First mention of proposal to place reptiles in the ‘understairs pool’ in the Main Entrance; discussions begin regards ‘Housing for Penguins and Flamingos’.
Temporary gate in the Japanese garden removed; ‘ceramic screen’ (coloured concrete ‘screen wall unit’) dismantled and rebuilt; chicken-wire screens thrown up across the entire lengths of the southern sides of the two courtyards (then open); and ‘chain link’ fencing carried up full height of the ‘wall’. Stones and pebbles removed from Flamingo garden.
1967 First consignment of Humboldt penguins arrived from the Falkland Islands for the Penguin Garden. Birds kept and fed by the Maintenance Department; one individual charged with keeping an eye on the birds. Penguins fed with herrings and sprats supplied by Suffolk-based Birds Eye wet fish operation.
February: report from Mr. Yealland of Zoological Society, London on recommended changes to the garden courtyards to create a better habitat for the birds.
August: plans been drawn up for redesign of the southwest courtyard for a new ‘Flamingo Pool’
1968 June: Inventory of birds and reptiles at the Head Office
1. ‘Penguin Garden’: 4 Gentoo Penguins; (as proposed in first article) 4 Humbolt Penguins;
2. ‘Flamingo Garden’: 2 Chilean Flamingos; 2 Cuban Flamingos; 2 Carolina Ducks; and 2 Mandarin Ducks;
3. ‘Understairs-Pool’: 4 Caiman Alligators; 2 Snapper Turtles; and 2 Terrapins.
1969 February: Fifteen penguins in Monolith Courtyard: 4 King Penguins, 4 Humbolt Penguins and 7 Gentoo Penguins (insured for a total value of £1,600). More penguins arrived shortly thereafter from the Falklands.
September: Addition of Red-crested Pochard and Snow Goose to Penguin Garden; small stones and turf removed from courtyards.
1971 July: Sprinkler introduced to Penguin courtyard to remedy ‘cracked, infected feet in the birds’. Fountains installed to circulate water; water in pools changed twice a week.
December: Alligators sold.
1972 April: Penguin egg hoax.
(No further details given but most probably an ‘April Fool’?)
1975 Penguins sold for total of £500 to the Zoological Gardens, Southampton (total 11 penguins: 2 Kings and 9 Humbolt Penguins; the remainder had died); Terrapins also sold.
1987 Nichols hired for garden maintenance after the Great Storm. Maintenance Department relieved of most garden duties.
1990 Flamingos relocated to Rodes Bird Gardens, Somerset. Three of the original four were sent – one died of arthritis shortly before being taken to the sanctuary.
Raised planter formed in Flamingo Courtyard by disguising concrete platforms; seating placed in courtyards on a seasonal basis for first time. Employees had previously been discouraged from using the courtyards.
1994 Winter: pools drained in both courtyards.
Main Contractors and Suppliers
Bird and Reptile Suppliers and Veterinary Pathology
Tyseley Pet Stores Limited, Birmingham
Boyd, Oliver and Ball, Veterinary Surgeons, Walton on Thames
Mansai Laboratories Limited, Weybridge
Further details from an accompanying information sheet from the Birds Eye archives
‘…two ornamental internal courtyards, which in the 1960s housed a quartet of penguins and a quartet of flamingos which were looked after by Walton’s ‘animal man’, Bill South. The Head Office also had two alligators, which by 1972 had grown too large to be kept in the pool at Walton, and were taken on by a private collector in Edinburgh.’
Answers to questions asked in original article:
Did Birds Eye in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey keep King or Emperor penguins?
King Penguins.
Which other species of penguins were kept?
Humbolt and Gentoo Penguins.
Did the penguins come from Chipperfields, via Southampton Zoo?
Although this is not stated anywhere in the document, stated neither in the chronology or list of main contractors and suppliers, a Bartlett Society member believes that ‘…from the Falkland Islands’ “…may well have been via Chipperfield as, I think, he was the only person importing into the UK at the time.”
Did the King Penguins survive for long?
From the details in the chronology it could be said that as least two King Penguins may have lasted six years in the courtyards. Four arrived in 1969 and two were sold to Southampton Zoo in 1975, but this can not be proved as it also states in 1969 that ‘More penguins arrived shortly thereafter from the Falklands’ without giving any further information of the species involved.
Internet sources used for first article:
Shortened Grade II Listed Building description and aerial photo:
Birds Eye (Including Courtyard, Water Garden Features and Front Pool Surrounds) - Walton-on-Thames - Surrey - England | British Listed Buildings
Information from ex-employees on a Walton-on-Thames internet forum about the building and the animals kept there.
walton-on-thames.org • Index page - ‘search’ using ‘birds eye’ / ‘birds eye penguins’
British Pathé Website:
Typist's Treat Aka Penguin Pool For Typists - British Path
This link provides a fantastic (extremely of its time) Pathé newsreel film showing both the penguin and flamingo pool and their inhabitants. As this is a site that sells the Pathé clips you may just have to watch a short advert before the clip plays.
peter welsh
New Member
Penguins in Wickham Bishops
Dear Dean,
My family has lived in WB since early '70's and we remember the penguins and fancy ducks well.
Have you any idea where I could get a photo of them in the Narvik Pool?
Many thanks,
Peter Welsh
Dear Dean,
My family has lived in WB since early '70's and we remember the penguins and fancy ducks well.
Have you any idea where I could get a photo of them in the Narvik Pool?
Many thanks,
Peter Welsh