Early 20th Century Postcard of Belle Vue’s Clock Tower and Lake
The Demise of the Once Famous Belle Vue Zoological Gardens By Margaret Brecknell For over 140 years visitors flocked to Manchester’s Belle Vue Zoological Gardens, making the tourist attraction one of the most popular in the whole of North-West England. Yet today little remains of this once iconic venue.
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elle Vue owed its existence to a businessman from Stockport called John Jennison, who during the 1830s was given the opportunity to lease a Manchester pub called the “Belle Vue”, to which a large plot of land was attached. Jennison worked as a gardener and for a decade or so had opened the garden at his own home in Stockport to the public during the summer months. To increase the attractions on offer, he had added a small aviary and brewhouse to the
LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE
site, but space meant that there was then little further scope for expansion, hence the move to Belle Vue. His new venture at Belle Vue opened its doors to the public for the first time in 1836. However, despite its immediate popularity, Jennison found himself, in the early 1840s, in severe financial difficulties. Not only did Belle Vue face increased competition from the recently opened Manchester Zoological Gardens, but www.lancmag.com
