This establishment was opened by Mr Joseph Ball in approx 1895 ( as this is first report of visitors to it) ... He took the lease of Chadderton Hall in the late 19th century and set about creating his dream of owning a zoo ... Mr Ball was a local businessman who had his own business as a steeplejack,Chimney Restorer , Manufacturer of Lightning Conductors (for which he held a patent) Chimney Sweep , He was also owner of The Empire Theatre and Gaiety Music Hall in Oldham .... His collection of animals consisted of Kangaroo (listed as a boxing Kangaroo) Lion (named Chang which died in 1897) , Tigers , Elephant , Crocodiles , Bear , Monkeys and Zebra on 15 Acres of land... In fact in 1899 Mr Ball was in court as a Labourer named James Marlow was badly bitten by one of his Zebras ....It is not detailed as to why Mr Ball moved away from Chadderton Hall but he was listed in 1901 as living at his self built "castle" (York Castle) in Oldham ... His Castle was demolished in 1968 and there was a film made about his life at that time too..... He died in April 1906 aged just 54 ... The "Zoo" has been listed as Oldham Zoological Gardens but I can only ever find it listed as Chadderton Hall Pleasure Gardens with a Menagerie ... The hall was demolished in 1939 and the grounds are since known as Chadderton Hall Park open to the public
The details of these lost animal colections are fascinating and I hope they will be more formally published.
Ought to be a job for the Bartlett Society... They have done one Keeling book very nicely, but it will take a long time to work through the backlog of other Keeling titles. I absolutely agree with you - a book along the lines of TB's, with basic info and pictures of each, (but minus the Keeling opinion and pomposity) would be both interesting and important. How about it zoowhosewho..?
I think you have already begun! Given the huge number of closed zoos, it would be a daunting task. The number of Keeling 'Where the....' books, and the amount of time he devoted to the subject shows the scope. When I added them up, I personally have visited over 50 zoos which are now closed, and the greater majority of those were in the UK. I think the continued expansion of this thread, giving each collection its own section where information can be added later, is a very good start.Getting the basics down before they are forgotten, is a start - and the most important. More can be added later...
