Closed zoos in the westcountry

jacks zoo

jacks zoo

Well-Known Member
I am trying to find information on the following collections, all of which once existed in the south west of england:

Pine Valley Wildlife Park-Okehampton, Devon
Truro Wildlife Park-St Erme, Cornwall
Lornas Mini Zoo-Gunnislake, Cornwall
Exmouth Zoo-Devon

Any info welcome!

Many thanks
 
jacks zoo said:
I am trying to find information on the following collections, all of which once existed in the south west of england:

Pine Valley Wildlife Park-Okehampton, Devon
Truro Wildlife Park-St Erme, Cornwall
Lornas Mini Zoo-Gunnislake, Cornwall
Exmouth Zoo-Devon

Any info welcome!

Many thanks
Click to expand...

I think I may've seen photos of Exmouth Zoo somewhere. I'll see if I can find them...it didn't look good as far as I can remember.
 
jacks zoo said:
I am trying to find information on the following collections, all of which once existed in the south west of england:

Pine Valley Wildlife Park-Okehampton, Devon
Exmouth Zoo-Devon

Any info welcome!

Many thanks
Click to expand...

Exmouth Zoo was situated in what looked as if it was a wooden tearoom or cricket pavilion in an open area called 'the Maer' on Exmouth Seafront. The building was surrounded by a fenced 'garden' area with small paddocks for rabbits, goats etc. The only animal I can remember seeing there was a chimpanzee but there may have been bushbabies, kinkajous, parrakeets etc. in other cages which were ranged around the walls on all sides. The owner was Ken Smith.

Pine Valley's main claim to fame is the escaped Porcupines which set up a small feral colony. The 'park' was set in a damp secluded valley on a minor road a mile or two to the North of Okehampton. That's all I know..
 
Truro

Truro wildlife park was the reason my Dad started the centre. We spent several holidays there and he made friends with the owner and ended up helping out. They had a caravan site. I was really young and don't really remember what they had, apart from a peacock!! Or what the place was like Think they had wallabies and birds of prey, can’t remember anything else. Would be interested to hear what happened to it.
 
Truro Wildlife Park

Hi trigger, thats really interesting that you used to visit the park, you are about the only person i have come accross who remembers it!
From what i have managed to find out so far....The park was mostly a bird garden keeping species like parrots, owls and flamingos but also exhibited some type of primates at one time, it closed in the early 90s. I have a rare leaflet somewhere from t.w.p 1991, i will post it here when i get a chance! When the collection closed many of the birds went to screech owl sanctuary which still exists today. Apparantly the owners had mounted up huge debts and could no longer afford to feed the animals! They dissappeard on a yacht they owned, never to be seen again as far as i am aware? I once visited the old site of t.w.p and spoke to the current owner, there seems to be little trace now of the old wildlife park, but it is still fondly remembered by many locals!
 
A good place to start looking for information on many of these collections are the books of the late Clin Keeling. Certainly he includes chapters on Exmouth, Lorna's and Pine Valley. Don't forget the significant collections at Plymouth (Chipperfields), Bideford (Catherine Totenham), Illfracombe (Charles Trevisick) and, depending on your definition of 'West Country', Poole Park too as well several smaller places.
 
I used to have a 'guidebook' for Bideford Zoo. It was very slim..

I visited this place once- there were some very basic cages and paddocks. I remember they had a red-eared Guenon. Also llamas etc. I believe it was only open to the public for about four years.

Poole Zoo was situated in Poole Park and purpose built within a fenced area. I think it may have been owned by the local council (?) but was run by the same Ken Smith who later had Exmouth Zoo. For a very small zoo it had quite an interesting collection of animals though I cannot remember species now.
 
Bideford and Poole Zoo

Thanks for the information-is it not true that some of the remains of Bideford zoo still remain today? I tried to find the old site once when i was in the area, with no success! I was however lucky enough to visit Poole Park Zoo in its later years, when it was beng run by a gentlemen called David Flower. Allthough fewer species were exhibited by this stage, they maintained a fantastic primate and bird collection. I have a copy the last guide book to be produced by P.P.Z. I would relly like to obtain some of the late Clin Keelings work, i have recently been in touch with his publisher and they have informed me that they will still be producing his titles to order which is great news!
 
jacks zoo said:
Thanks for the information-is it not true that some of the remains of Bideford zoo still remain today? I tried to find the old site once when i was in the area, with no success! I was however lucky enough to visit Poole Park Zoo in its later years, they maintained a fantastic primate and bird collection.
Click to expand...

I can visualise the access to Bideford Zoo in my mind, it was a up a steep drive from the road as it was situated on a hillside. It was on the right of the road leading South from the town to Great Torrington.
Poole Park Zoo I should remember better as I lived in that area once. They had a male Lion-tailed Macaque. Wallabies.
 
Dear jacks zoo

I would be particularly intrigued to see a post of your Truro Wildlife Park leaflet. The collection is not yet represented under our Closed Collections section.

< Zoo History >.
Best Wishes, Paul Murphy, joint webmaster The Bartlett Society.
 
I will try and dig out that leaflet zoospud, from what i remember it didnt contain alot of information on the park but perhaps included some colour pics??
 
Bideford Zoo

The now closed Bideford Zoo was sited in what is now a road called Rowe Close, postcode EX39 5XX. The site is now filled with mostly relatively recentlt built properties. Although there are a couple of olders ones, at the back of the site amongst trees and another on the way through the Close, which is being turned into two properties I believe and has been for some time. Here's a Google map in satellite view of the site...

:: MAP ::

It's not a large site for a Zoo, we've walked the dog round Rowe Close a few times because we're looking to buy a property there. I've not seen anything of the old enclosures on the new estate that's there, but then I've not examined it extensively, and of course you can't exactly go wandering round people gardens.

I found this info on another website:

"Bideford Zoo was built by Mrs K. Tottenham and opened on the 29th May 1966. The original inhabitants included sea lions, bears and raccoons. It finally closed on the 17th October 1970. Most animals were rehomed in a Midlands zoo. You can still see remnants of some of the enclosures at the site. The site has now been bulldozed for a new housing estate."

There's a slideshow of some folks visiting the old Zoo site in 2008 here:

07-12-08 Visit Bideford Old Zoo site
 
zoospud said:
Dear jacks zoo

I would be particularly intrigued to see a post of your Truro Wildlife Park leaflet. The collection is not yet represented under our Closed Collections section.

< Zoo History >.
Best Wishes, Paul Murphy, joint webmaster The Bartlett Society.
Click to expand...

Hi, i was just looking at the closed zoos section on that site and you don't seem to have Penscynor on there.
 
Dear All

Thanks for the updates.

The map is fascinating and Penscynor is a big miss from our list.

I am currently finishing indexing the Bartlett Society archive / library. The task has taken several of us hundreds of hours however we are almost complete.

Then we can revisit your information / our records / your questions and get the master closure listing improved.

Regards, Paul M.
 
There's a souvenir spoon from the Truro W. P. on eBay right now. Item number 260648068390
 
Johnny Morris. said:
Hi, i was just looking at the closed zoos section on that site and you don't seem to have Penscynor on there.
Click to expand...

Sorry stumbled across this by chance, and as I'm ex-penscynor, it made my ears prick up, or my eye's or whatever....

Anyway also missing from your list is the Gower Reptile Exhibiton Centre, a short lived attraction in swansea's Gower Penninsular, Opened by a Noel Morgan in the early 90's
 
Anyway also missing from your list is the Gower Reptile Exhibiton Centre, a short lived attraction in swansea's Gower Penninsular, Opened by a Noel Morgan in the early 90's[/QUOTE]

I visited this collection , it was a mile or so outside Rhosilli . I think it might only have been open for one season .
 
Lorna's Mini Zoo, Gunnislake, Cornwall

Hi Jack, I used to work at Lorna's Mini Zoo in Cornwall. What do you want to know? I don't have any photographs but I can remember quite a lot!
kind regards
Mary
 
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