“A capable man can make a fortune here” Halifax Courier, 30th January, 1909.
The story of Halifax Zoo and Amusement Park is a gleefully enterprising one, born largely out of the imagination of one man.
Alfred McKill, one of six directors on the project, was chairman and self-described ’traveller’ for Wilcock and Sons Ltd, Leeds. He had, for many years, collected wild animals as a hobby and was known for taking his pet camel for walks through the village where he lived. Having previously failed to launch a similar project, Yorkshire Jungle Ltd, at Roundhay, he was not one to be put off; inspired by White City and Earls Court, in London, McKill didn’t see why Yorkshire couldn’t have the same extravagant entertainments.
On February the 19th, 1909, the Halifax Guardian reported that the Chevinedge Estate, at Exley Bank, had been bought by a company for the purpose of forming a zoo and amusement park. The purchaser, the Guardian revealed, was Mr McKill. Chevinedge had been the home of James William Davis, the Mayor of Halifax, until his death in 1893. The Mansion, built to all his requirements, was in the Gothic style and situated in four acres of pleasure gardens complete with trees and shrubs, a bowling green and tennis courts. The Halifax Courier had previously published a prospectus for a company calling itself The Halifax Amusement Park and Skating Rink Ltd. On March the 13th the same paper printed a cartoon entitled ‘Prospective Halifax Visitors’ showing various wild animals processing down a road signposted to Halifax. It reported that the directors of the company thought themselves “extremely fortunate in having been able to purchase a park so magnificently situated and so picturesque”.
So, what were McKill’s dreams for Chevinedge? They ranged from practical to outlandish there were, for instance, plans for an ostrich farm, because it was believed that it would appeal to the ladies and hopes for creating an ‘Indian Village’, with ‘natives’ and elephants; however, there needed to be entertainment in place to open the enterprise with. Some key attractions that were mentioned in the company’s prospectus included: a state-of-the-art roller-skating rink, a lake, complete with gondolas and black and white swans, “high-class” catering at the mansion itself, a Corinthian style bandstand and a miniature railway. Other projected attractions were to be Wild West shows, balloon ascents, the Hall of Laughter, a jungle shooting gallery and an ‘Electric Theatre’ but of course McKill’s chief focus was the establishment of the zoo. Animals were to include traditional zoo favourites such as lions, bears, zebra, monkeys and snakes along with more unusual creatures such as vultures, eagles, Nubian goats, wild boar and muskrats. One animal, which eventually became one of the most popular at the zoo, was an Indian Elephant that McKill purchased from F.C. Bostock’s zoo in Glasgow. Originally named ‘Kim’, somewhere along the line her name was changed to a racial slur which we now recognise as deeply offensive. In photographs it is evident that her keeper, John Aaron (who possibly made the trip down from Glasgow with her) was a person of colour. It would be interesting to know what life was like for John, living and working in Halifax but unfortunately there is very little about him in our collections.
At 2pm on the 29th of May, the park opened its gates to the public. Workmen were still present putting the finishing touches to various attractions – over 300 men had been given temporary relief from unemployment to help with the completion and were expected to work through the night by the light of oil lamps. This didn’t seem to put off the many people who flocked to Exley to get a first look at the park. Attendances for the opening weekend were announced as 6,000 for the Saturday and 15,000 for the Monday. Over the following weeks news of the zoo and amusement park spread further afield. Visitors arrived in Halifax by train from Lancashire, whilst residents of the Upper Calder Valley arrived by canal boat at Salterhebble. As spring turned to summer a day out at Exley became even more attractive. Often the park would be open from 10am in the morning to 10pm at night. The entrance fee was just 6 pence. From newspaper articles and a huge amount of publicity it appears that there was plenty to amuse all day long. It’s not difficult to imagine the scene at Chevinedge on a balmy evening; lit by the warm glow of electric lamps, music from the bandstand, food and drink, dancing, fireworks and much joviality. Perhaps though, all this fun was not appreciated by the zoo’s residents. There are reports of some of the animals being poked and teased by visitors who were likely ignorant of animal welfare and oblivious to how dangerous they could be. On one occasion, a wild boar, having had enough of being prodded, leapt out of its pen and bit a woman on the leg, and on another occasion, a similarly irritated bear seized an umbrella from a woman and demolished it. There were also reports of animals escaping. On June the 17th, 1913, head keeper Stanley Hinds was inside a cage with two bears when they both escaped. Zoo staff were quickly summoned. One bear was captured just before it reached the park gates but the other made it out onto Jubilee Road, causing much commotion. It was eventually caught in Elland Wood.
With the advent of World War, it seems that interest in the zoo and amusement park began to wane. We will never know exactly what turned people off but there were likely several issues in play. Perhaps people began to focus less on enjoyment and more on how they would see themselves through the following years. Some have said that the death of the much-loved elephant was a contributing factor. Whatever the reasons, the war made it difficult to purchase food for the animals and at the end of the 1916 season they were sold on to other zoos. In the same year the park came under new management, headed by P. Wilkinson and L. J. Akroyd. They endeavoured to keep things going as best they could, but events lacked the sparkle and excitement of former years.
In 1933 Chevinedge Mansion was demolished and building began on the site to create modern semi-detached houses – what we now know as Chevinedge Crescent.
Alfed McKill went on to plan and propose a zoo for Temple Newsome, Leeds. The project failed.
