History
of the ZSL
The ZSL's influence on the history of Victorian taxidermy cannot be underestimated
For the whole of the 19th century the ZSL referred to its zoo as “The Menagerie”.
The birth of menageries and zoos cannot be separated from the establishment and expansion of the British Empire.
The Zoological Society of London, the ZSL, was founded at Regent’s Park in 1826 and opened in 1828 and has continued for almost 200 years.
The ZSL ‘s importance in the development of scientific knowledge of animals and its influence in the history of Victorian taxidermy cannot be underestimated.
The ZSL operates two zoos, one in London and the other at Whipsnade, now a conservation zoo.
The Expansion of the British Empire Enabled the Formation of the ZSL
The cliché was that Britain’s influence, power and control was so far-reaching, so all-encompassing, that the Sun never set on its empire. And it was true. The British were everywhere.
By the turn of the 20th century, the British flag had been raised right across the world map: from the farthest reaches of North America, across the Caribbean, over large swathes of Africa, throughout the Indian subcontinent and as far distant as Australia and New Zealand.
Unbridled access to never-before-seen animals and the world’s exotic species was suddenly as easy as it was compelling.
Britain's first zoo started with Henry 1 in the year 1110 at Woodstock, Oxfordshire
Henry 1 was the founder of the Menagerie in the 12th Century and effectively this was Britain’s first Zoo. The Menagerie developed to become the Zoo that we know today.
In 1110, Henry 1 had a wall built to enclose his collection of animals at Woodstock, Oxfordshire. Among the animals on display were lions, tigers, porcupines, and camels. Imagine seeing the exoticism of that in the 12th century in the Oxfordshire countryside!
A century later, the menagerie was moved to the Tower of London where it remained for 600 years until the early 19th century.
The Tower menagerie in London developed into a popular attraction, and those who couldn’t afford the price were let in for free if they brought along a dog or cat ……to throw to the lions.
Yes, really….
The London Zoo is born
In 1832, after a string of incidents where the animals escaped and attacked each other, visitors and staff, the Duke of Wellington – Constable of the Tower of London – ordered the animals to be moved from the Tower Menagerie to their current home at the ZSL in Regent’s Park.
And so the London Zoo was born.
The ZSL flourished as an offshoot of the Linnean Society (founded in 1788). Its stated purpose was to establish a scientific place for the study and nurture of natural history. Its key objective being to domesticate wild animals so that they could be studied further and bred.
Before 1788 the only places that animals could be seen in Britain during the first quarter of the 19th Century were at the Royal Tower of London Menagerie, or at the Sandpit Gate at Windsor Castle, and at The Exeter ‘Change, near The Strand in London, owned privately by Mr T Cross who was an ex-employee and son in law of the original menagerie owner, Stephen Polito. (see article on Menageries)
The ZSL was originally an elite club
Raffles was subsequently elected the first President of the Zoological Committee in February 1826. His fellow council members included the landed gentry and high-level dignitaries of the day, namely the earls of Darnley, Egremont, Malmsbury, the Bishop of Carlisle, Sir Humphrey Davey, the naturalist Joseph Sabine and the distinguished ornithologist, John Gould.
It was hoped that Natural History could attain the same status and importance as Botany had done within the specialised association of the Horticulture Society, so “vulgar admiration” was not at all on the agenda; the ZSL was an exclusive club set up by and for the higher and noble classes.
Initially membership and connection to the ZSL was restricted to “Fellows” and the animal park menagerie was not open to the public. These “Fellows” came from the higher echelons of society, and they were the members and subscribers who provided funding and knowledge and helped to procure donations.
At its inception in 1828 the public could only gain access to view the ZSL’s animal park if they could pay 1 shilling, but more importantly, if they had a written order from an existing Fellow. This was totally prohibitive to most people and so the public were effectively excluded, and it remained an elite club. It wasn’t until 20 years later in 1847 that the rule on exclusivity was dropped due to the need to raise money.
The public finally gained access for the price of one shilling at which level admission was to remain for almost a century (John Edwards 1996: London Zoo).
This book is copyright free and you can download it directly here at The Velvet Drawing Room The Zoological Society of London a sketch of its foundation and development, and the story of its farm, museum, gardens, menagerie and library 1905
This book by John Edwards is most informative and has images from 1852 up to 1914 of the animals and much more at London Zoo.
ISBN: 0952709902
Book on the history of The Zoological Society by Henry Scherren, printed 1905
Book on the history of The Zoological Society by Henry Scherren, printed 1905
This book is a culturally important record of the history of the Zoological Society and its menagerie in Regent’s Park, London.
Printed in 1905 and authored by Henry Scherren, FZS and Member of the British Ornithologists Union, the book sketches the foundation of the ZSL’s development and gives an overview of its farm, a museum at 33 Bruton Street (which in the early to mid-1840’s had Edward Gerrard as its curator), gardens and menagerie and was the first attempt to tell its story. (It’s generally accepted that the book’s index is incomplete and of limited value).
In the book, Mr Scherren also refers to the politics and jostling for position amongst the Fellows and appointed committee members. I don’t feel that this was a deliberate action on his part; he was merely recording in his book the factual goings on as evidenced by minutes of meetings. Some of the descriptions of the scenes between competing persons of note reminded me strongly that human behaviour is always and has always been motivated by five things: Pride, Recognition, Money, Love, Fear. The Pride and Recognition elements are clear and obvious in the descriptions of the attempts of some of the Fellows to out-manoeuvre each other!
Being a Fellow of the Zoological Society - F.Z.S.
Membership was for the elite and privileged only, since an application had to be made, and the Fellow had to be elected. The fees are substantial, as evidenced from the below extract:
The present terms of Admission for Fellows are an Admission Fee of Five Pounds, with an Annual Payment of Three pounds, due on the 1st of January, and payable in advance.
Fellows elected after the 31st of August are not liable for the Subscription for the year in which they are elected.
No person can become a Fellow until the Admission Fee and First Annual Subscription have been paid, or the Annual Payments have been compounded for.
The Annual Subscription may be compounded for on the terms of Fifteen Years’ Purchase, the whole Payment, including the Admission Fee, being Fifty Pounds.
The ZSL opens to the public in 1847
But selling animals wasn’t enough, and by 1847 it was obvious that something had to be done. The public were finally allowed into the ZSL gardens via a paid ticket, this time, without an order from a Fellow.
Opening to the public was successful in raising funds, and fifty years later by 1897 £3,400 was spent to open the Ostrich House. Apart from Ostriches it contained Rheas, Cassowaries and Emus, Cranes and Storks.
In 1897 the Hon Walter Rothschild of Tring (see article) donated £150 to open the Tortoise House which contained a gigantic Daudin’s Tortoise. Rothschild was known to admire any creature of gigantic size and had a particular penchant for the tortoise. By 1899 the Zebra House was finished at a cost of about £1,100. A bargain!
The ZSL went from strength to strength and in 1901 Grant’s Zebra arrived and was the first of its kind to reach England. It had been presented to His Majesty the King by the Emperor Menelek of Ethiopia. It was like a Burchell’s Zebra but didn’t have the same type of stripes.
At this time the Royal Menagerie at Windsor was broken up and all the animals were sent to the ZSL menagerie in London.
The animals that came from the Royal Menagerie in Windsor included 2 Spanish cattle, 1 black faced Kangaroo, 1 yellow footed rock Kangaroo, 1 Grevy Zebra, 2 Somali Ostriches, 1 American Bison, 3 Zebus, 3 St. Kilda’s Sheep and 3 Nubian goats. They had all been the “pets” of the Royal Family at Windsor.
The ZSL continued to acquire animals from various sources and in 1903 Jingo the Great African Elephant whose behaviour had become difficult, was sold to the famous Bostock’s Menagerie in the USA for £200. Jingo was sent on a train to Liverpool and then boarded the ship “Georgic”. Tragically, Jingo died at sea.
It’s very sad to think of the way animals were treated – even within the recent timeframe of just 120 years.
The evolution of the modern zoo
From the cabinets of curiosities which emerged from the 15th century onwards, then to the landscaped parks of nobility with their bourgeois zoos in the 17th and 18th centuries, then the travelling menagerie in the 19th century which reached the wider public, and then the ubiquitous carnival of fairs and circuses in the 19th and 20th centuries – the modern-day zoo tells a story of its own evolution.
Through these mutations finally the zoo has become a place for education and science and conservation, not for the wonder or freakery (and cruelty) previously found in menageries, carnivals or fairs.
The modern zoo is set up for conservation
These days the ZSL’s raison d’etre is conservation.
ZSL is working in more than 50 countries around the world to protect animals and their habitats: from protecting hedgehogs in Regent’s Park and marine life in the River Thames, to the far-flung corners of the Mongolian desert and depths of the ocean.
They run educational programmes and workshops, master’s and PhD courses and awards are provided to support young conservationists.
Thankfully, it’s all a very far cry from the exploitation of the 19th century when Giraffes and Zebras were walked through London after arriving at the docks, and Elephants were sent on trains and ships. LINK TO MAIN ANIMAL BLOG POST
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