Dudley Zoo
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Dudley Zoo & Castle (previously Dudley Zoological Gardens) is a zoo within a 200-acre densely-wooded site located within the grounds of
Dudley Castle Dudley Castle is a ruins, ruined castle, fortification in the town of Dudley, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Originally, a wooden motte and bailey castle built soon after the Norman Conquest, it was rebuilt as a stone fortifica ...
in the town of
Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...
, in the
Black Country The Black Country is an area of England's West Midlands. It is mainly urban, covering most of the Dudley and Sandwell metropolitan boroughs, with the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall and the City of Wolverhampton. The road between Wolverhampto ...
region of the West Midlands,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. The zoo opened to the public on 18 May 1937. It contains 12 modernist animal enclosures and other buildings designed by the architect Berthold Lubetkin and the Tecton Group. The zoo went into receivership in 1977 and was purchased by Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. Dudley Zoo is now operated by Dudley and West Midlands Zoological Society, founded in 1978 and a
registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...
.


History

The owner of Dudley Castle, William Ward, 3rd Earl of Dudley, decided to create a zoo in the castle grounds in the 1930s. The initial Board of the Dudley Zoological Society was made up of the Earl, Ernest Marsh (director of Marsh and Baxter) and Captain Frank Cooper, owner of Oxford Zoo, who wanted to sell his animals and it was Oxford Zoo, which closed in 1936, that supplied Dudley with the majority of its initial collection of animals. The zoo was built between 1935 and 1937, with Dr Geoffrey Vevers, the Superintendent at London Zoo acting as an advisor. Thirteen zoo buildings were designed by
Berthold Lubetkin Berthold Romanovich Lubetkin (14 December 1901 – 23 October 1990) was a Russian-born British architecture, architect who pioneered International style (architecture), modernist design in Britain in the 1930s. His work includes the Highpoint I ...
and engineering was carried out by
Ove Arup Sir Ove Nyquist Arup (16 April 1895 – 5 February 1988) was an English engineer who founded Arup Group Limited, a multinational corporation offering engineering, design, planning, project management, and consultant, consulting services for bu ...
. The steepness of much of the terrain and the presence of caverns produced by limestone mining in previous centuries presented the architects and builders with a number of difficulties. Further constraints were presented by the castle being a
scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...
, its structure and immediate surroundings being protected by a government department, the
Office of Works The Office of Works was an organisation responsible for structures and exterior spaces, first established as part of the English royal household in 1378 to oversee the building and maintenance of the royal castles and residences. In 1832 it be ...
. The architects chose a deliberately modern style for the animal enclosures, entrance and visitor refreshment facilities, making no attempt to match the appearance of the castle ruins. The main material chosen for the construction was pre-stressed reinforced concrete which gave the possibility of forming curved structures and projecting platforms. It was decided to avoid cages where possible and to display the animals in a deliberately artificial manner rather than create an imitation of natural surroundings. The zoo opened on 18 May 1937. The opening day was a success, with over 250,000 people recorded as visiting the zoo on its opening day. 700,000 people visited the zoo in its first year. The opening weeks of the zoo were not always positive as on 18 June 1937, a Malayan
brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear native to Eurasia and North America. Of the land carnivorans, it is rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear, which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on av ...
escaped from the zoo, biting a Dudley resident and was struck by a policeman's truncheon. The bear then spent a few hours in local gardens before recapture. Just 3 days later the animal made another escape, this time being shot dead in the castle grounds. During his reign,
King Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...
was a regular visitor to the zoo. The King was a close friend of the zoo's co-owner, William Ward, 3rd Earl of Dudley. Elephant rides were one of the attractions of the zoo since it opened in 1937, as it was reported in April 1937 that two Indian elephants had been brought to Dudley Zoo with that purpose in mind. The zoo continued to have elephants until 9 April 2003 when the zoo’s last two African elephants, Flossie and Flora, were relocated to Planete Sauvage in south-west
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. A miniature railway was added in 1938 with two locomotives constructed by G & S Light Engineering, of Stourbridge. The locomotives ran on a track about 1 mile long, carrying up to 150 passengers. In 1958 a chair lift was introduced to take visitors from near the entrance up the steep grass bank towards the elephant house. The chair lift was opened on 11 May 1958 by the comedian Richard Hearne. In 2000, the chairlift was put out of use due to safety concerns. It was relaunched in August 2012 following a
Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...
refurbish. The zoo was bought by the Scotia leisure group in 1970. In 1977, the zoo went into receivership but was bought by Dudley Metropolitan Council. Finally, in 1978, The Dudley and West Midlands Zoological Society charity was set up to run the zoo, although the council still owns the grounds. In 1979, the Penguin Pool had to be demolished because of damage to the concrete caused by the salty water. This was the one major original animal enclosure to unfortunately be lost. On 23 October 2018 zoo staff shot dead an 8-year-old
snow leopard The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia'') is a species of large cat in the genus ''Panthera'' of the family Felidae. The species is native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because ...
named Margaash, after he had left his enclosure when a keeper failed to secure it. In a post to its website on 30 November 2018 the zoo confirmed that it was closed with no visitors on site at the time of the incident, and there is no suggestion that Margaash posed any immediate threat to any human. The zoo described the killing as "
euthanasia Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...
". A backlash and protest followed as local people disagreed with the killing of Margaash, describing it as a "needless killing".


Animals

Dudley Zoo was home to a
gorilla Gorillas are primarily herbivorous, terrestrial great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or five su ...
named Bonzo from 1962 until his death in 1994. Due to his local fame and connection with the zoo's many visitors, a bust was erected of Bonzo in 2016. In 2003, in common with other urban zoos, Dudley parted with their two female
African elephant African elephants are members of the genus ''Loxodonta'' comprising two living elephant species, the African bush elephant (''L. africana'') and the smaller African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''). Both are social herbivores with grey skin. ...
s so that they could benefit from more spacious surroundings. The elephants were moved to West Midland Safari Park to benefit from a more spacious enclosure. The remaining large animals include giraffes, tigers, lions, reindeer, Wallaby, wallabies, and three snow leopards, the latest being born in May 2013. Primates are well represented, and there are several Aviary, aviaries and a reptile house. There was a time where Dudley Zoo housed polar bears and Southern elephant seals. Cuddles, a male orca, was housed at the zoo from 1971, until his death in February 1974. The dolphin and whale pools were modified seal and sea lions pools with the walls being built up to create more depth. However, these plans were in breach of the local planning laws and the zoo was ordered to return the pools to their original state. As the zoo was not prepared to invest in new purpose built pools Cuddles was put up for sale, but died before being moved, from long-term gastro-intestinal problems. The pools were returned to their original design and now house the zoo's sea lions.


Modernist Architecture

The zoo buildings include twelve listed buildings, seven Grade II and five Grade II*, erected in 1937 by
Berthold Lubetkin Berthold Romanovich Lubetkin (14 December 1901 – 23 October 1990) was a Russian-born British architecture, architect who pioneered International style (architecture), modernist design in Britain in the 1930s. His work includes the Highpoint I ...
's Tecton Group which employed, among others, structural engineer
Ove Arup Sir Ove Nyquist Arup (16 April 1895 – 5 February 1988) was an English engineer who founded Arup Group Limited, a multinational corporation offering engineering, design, planning, project management, and consultant, consulting services for bu ...
. Most of the zoo buildings are in the International Style (architecture). In 2011, the zoo announced refurbishment and renovation plans for the zoo's listed buildings and parts of the zoo itself; totalling £1.15 million. Initial funding for the project was met by the Heritage Lottery Fund. In January 2013, newly released construction proposals indicated the entrance to the zoo would connect with the Black Country Museum and the Dudley Tunnel, Dudley Canal Trust, creating a single entrance for the three attractions. The new entrance was completed in September 2015. Focus will then shift to the bear pits, which zoo officials say will be renovated to provide "a dramatic backdrop in the landscape". This was the subject of an investigation by the Born Free Foundation in 2012. In November 2018 a £6 million expansion of the zoo was announced, where tunnels running underneath the Castle Hill site from the Second World War could be brought back, so that visitors can glimpse the mining history of Dudley. The zoo's iconic 1930s Tecton buildings could also be refurbished with this £6 million expansion. The work began in 2020. In February 2019 Dudley Zoo's Director, Derek Grove, announced plans to renovate animal enclosures and improve visitor facilities. These new renovations included; refurbishing the Lemur walk-through exhibit, adding a new indoor adventure playground, extending the Sumatran Tiger exhibit, and bringing back the European brown bears.


Listed Lubetkin and Tecton Buildings at Dudley Zoo

*The Castle Restaurant *The Elephant House *The Entrance Gateway *The Education Centre (formerly the Moat Café) *Tropical Bird House *Sea lion pools *Brown bear ravine *Kiosk south of the former brown bear pit *Former Station Café, now the Safari Shop *Polar Bear Pit and Lion and Tiger Ravines *Kiosk east of the former brown bear pit *The former reptiliary, now the Meerkat Enclosure A further Tectron building, The Penguin Enclosure, was demolished in the 1960s.


Artistic connections

A painting by Percy Shakespeare, ''Tropical Bird House, Dudley Zoo'' (1939), is in Dudley Museum and Art Gallery. In 2015, 89-year-old artist Rama Samaraweera, who was inspired to paint while a keeper at Dudley Zoo, donated three original oil paintings to the zoo to express his gratitude. His painting ''Clouded Leopard'' was a best-selling print in America in the 1970s. Animal Architecture (2015), a film by Adam Kossoff, narrated by Lenny Henry, explored the zoo and the restoration of Berthold Lubetkin's animal enclosures.


Castle

Access to
Dudley Castle Dudley Castle is a ruins, ruined castle, fortification in the town of Dudley, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Originally, a wooden motte and bailey castle built soon after the Norman Conquest, it was rebuilt as a stone fortifica ...
, a Grade I listed building built in the 11th century, is included in the zoo entrance fee.


Chairlift

A visitor chairlift was opened between the zoo's entrance and the castle on 11 May 1958 by Richard Hearne. It was taken out of use in 2000 due to health and safety concerns to the public. In August 2012 the chairlift was reopened after a 12-week, £117,000 National Lottery Heritage Fund, Heritage Lottery Fund restoration which included returning it to its original light cream colour.


References


External links

* *
The Modernist buildings of Dudley Zoo
Film
Dudley Zoo and Berthold Lubetkin
Film {{authority control Tourist attractions in the West Midlands (county) Zoos in England Grade II* listed buildings in the West Midlands (county) Buildings and structures in Dudley Modernist architecture in England Educational organizations established in 1937 Zoos established in the 1930s Charities based in the West Midlands (county) Berthold Lubetkin buildings Grade II* listed zoo buildings Grade II listed zoo buildings Grade II listed buildings in the West Midlands (county)