Herbert Whitley
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Herbert Whitley (1886 - September 15, 1955)Whitley wildlife Conservation Trust - History
retrieved 17 July 2012
was an English animal breeder who had a passion for breeding animals and plants, especially those blue in colour. His interests spanned livestock, pigeons, dogs, and exotic animals, many of which he kept in a collection at his house on the Primley Estate in
Paignton Paignton ( ) is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the unitary authority, borough of Torbay which was created in 1968. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the Engli ...
,
Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
. His breeding expertise won him many prizes, including for cattle, and his blue-coated greyhound,
Primley Sceptre Primley Sceptre was a greyhound bitch who was the first winner of ' Best in Show' at Crufts in 1928. Primley Sceptre was owned by eccentric zoo owner Herbert Whitley, an expert breeder of a huge range of animals, and a particular fascination with ...
, was the first ever " best in show" winner at
Crufts Crufts is an international dog show held annually in the United Kingdom, held since 1891, and organised by The Kennel Club. It is the largest show of its kind in the world. Crufts is primarily a championship conformation show for dogs, and ...
in 1928. The size of his private collection led him to open to the public as Primley Zoological Gardens. He had repeated clashes with the
Inland Revenue The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation ta ...
over his refusal to collect "entertainment tax" on tickets to the site, which he believed to be educational rather than an entertainment, and this twice led him to close the zoo to the public for extended periods. It finally reopened permanently after the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and became known as
Paignton Zoo Paignton Zoo is a zoo in Paignton, Devon, England. The zoo was started as a private collection by avid animal collector and breeder, Herbert Whitley, in the grounds of his home Primley House. It was opened to the public on a number of occasion ...
.


Family background

Herbert was the fourth of five children of Edward Whitley, a prominent solicitor,
Lord Mayor of Liverpool The Lord Mayor of Liverpool is a largely ceremonial civic office of Liverpool City Council. The Lord Mayor is the ‘first citizen’ of Liverpool representing the city and acting as a focal point of community events and is also the Chair (off ...
and Member of Parliament from
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, and his wife Isabella Greenall, heiress in the Greenall Whitley & Co brewery dynasty. Greenall Whitley still survives as De Vere hotels, and dozens of pubs still bear the Whitley Greenall name. The inheritance from this meant that Whitley was independently wealthy and able to indulge his desires. Following Edward's death, Isabella and four of her children moved to Devon, fearful of tuberculosis. Arriving in 1904, the brothers Herbert and William set about acquiring significant agricultural land holdings. It is thought that at its peak, you could walk from
Haytor Haytor, also known as Haytor Rocks, Hay Tor, or occasionally Hey Tor, is a granite tor on the eastern edge of Dartmoor in the English county of Devon. Location The tor is at grid reference , near the village of Haytor Vale in the parish of I ...
on Dartmoor to Slapton Ley without leaving Whitley land. During this time, Herbert attended
Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
and studied agriculture. The brothers were both keen
fox hunters Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, normally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of hounds" ...
with the
South Devon Hunt The South Devon Hunt or South Devon Foxhounds is a Fox hunting, foxhound pack in Devon, England. The country spans an area entirely within the county of Devon, predominantly on the East side of Dartmoor, out to the sea. Traditionally, the countr ...
, and following the outbreak of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
the Master, Major Cooke-Hurle was recalled to the army. As both brothers failed medicals for army service - Herbert on account of his poor eyesight - the brothers took joint mastership of the hunt. Herbert sent the hunt's horses to France for the war effort, and set about finding replacements. He used his extensive knowledge of animal breeding to improve the
foxhound A foxhound is a type of large hunting hound bred for strong hunting instincts, a keen sense of smell, and their barking, energy, drive, and speed. In fox hunting, the foxhound's namesake, packs of foxhounds track quarry, followed—usually on ho ...
lines in the hunting pack. Herbert's younger brother Charles was killed in 1917 during the Battle of Arras whilst serving with the
King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United Sta ...
, having been awarded the
Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...
the previous year for conspicuous gallantry. Herbert remained joint master of the hunt until 1921, when he stepped back to concentrate on his collection of animals and plants at the Primley Estate in Paignton, although he continued to hunt with the pack.


Breeding

Herbert's lifelong obsession was with the breeding of animals and plants - particularly trying to breed blue variants. This started with the gift of a pair of canaries from his mother, but his interests extended across livestock, dogs, and a wide range of other species.


Livestock

Herbert's breeding at Primley initially concentrated on breeding livestock, as part of the partnership with brother William. Early breeds included rare farm breeds such as
Jacob sheep The Jacob is a British breed of domestic sheep. It combines two characteristics unusual in sheep: it is piebald—dark-coloured with areas of white wool—and it is often polycerate or multi-horned. It most commonly has four horns. The origin ...
and Large Black pigs.


Paignton Zoo

The family home at the Primley Estate in Paignton was gradually filled with plants and animals collected and bred by Herbert, eventually expanding across the road from the original house and into land he owned on which he built various buildings to house his collections. Whilst these were initially common species, 1910 saw the arrival of the first monkeys, which started an expansion into an exotic collection. He acquired a number of exotics, including a
chimpanzee The chimpanzee (; ''Pan troglodytes''), also simply known as the chimp, is a species of Hominidae, great ape native to the forests and savannahs of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed one. When its close rel ...
called Bonny Mary, who appeared in the press as "the cleverest chimp in England". The chimp was trained to go to the village every morning to collect the milk, dressed as a milkmaid. In July 1923, Herbert decided to open his collection to the public as "Primley Zoological Gardens". Employees of the Torquay Tramway Company were amongst the first to visit the site prior to its official opening. In the month of opening, the park was visited by an officer of the
Inland Revenue The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation ta ...
, who informed Herbert that he should be charging an 'amusement tax' on ticket sales. Whitley declined to do so, stating that his park was educational rather than entertainment. He was then summonsed to appear at court in Paignton, which happened on 21 March 1924, where the magistrates found in favour of the Inland Revenue. Whitley immediately closed the park to the public, posting notices on the entrances, explaining the dispute and naming the justices involved in the case.
MR. HERBERT WHITLEY (the Owner) DOES NOT INTEND TO DEFRAUD THE PUBLIC BY CHARGING TAX WHERE NO ENTERTAINMENT EXISTS, AND CONSEQEUENTLY, WITH MUCH REGRET, HAS DECIDED TO CLOSE THE GROUNDS TO THE PUBLIC
Whitley continued to publicly feud with the revenue and magistrates, including raising a petition, and engaging in publicity denouncing the taxing. This led to replies in local press from the magistrates. Herbert had some history of clashing with authority, having fought the Paignton Urban District over his refusal to allow surveyors to access his land with a view to placing sewage and sanitation works, which he also lost at court and at appeal. In 1927, Herbert agreed to reopen the zoo, and pay the contentious entertainment tax. In 1934, the zoo opened a new "Tropical House", for which visitors had to pay an extra fee, and this once again attracted the attention of the Inland Revenue, who insisted that the tax be additionally paid on that fee. Whitley once again refused, and once again lost at court, closing the zoo for a second time in protest. Herbert continued to collect and breed, along with his brother William. Around the outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, he was considering reducing his collection to just his extensive collection of pigeons. Both he and William were exempt war service on grounds of their health, and when
Chessington Zoo Chessington World of Adventures Resort is a theme park, zoo and hotel complex in Chessington, Greater London, England, around southwest of Central London. The complex originally opened as Chessington Zoo in 1931; the theme park aspect was dev ...
needed to evacuate their animals, Herbert agreed to house them at Primley, and so ended up with a large collection. The relocation included not only animals, but a miniature railway and entire circus including the clowns and acrobats. Whilst Herbert remained involved, Chessington's Reginald Goddard ran much of the operations, with a focus on entertainment and profit which had never been part of Whitley's style. When Herbert Whitley died in 1955, the Herbert Whitley Trust, later the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust (WWCT) was set up to continue his work, and this was again renamed in 2019 as the Wild Planet Trust. The trust also owns and operates Newquay Zoo and previously also ran Living Coasts on Torquay seafront. His estates also included the site of several local nature reserves in Devon, including Slapton Ley, now also run by the WWCT.


Dog breeding

Whitley was keen on practical, working dogs, and bred dogs which were unpretentious and smooth coated. He disdained toy and heavy coated dogs as being impractical. In 1928, Whitley's blue-coated greyhound bitch ''
Primley Sceptre Primley Sceptre was a greyhound bitch who was the first winner of ' Best in Show' at Crufts in 1928. Primley Sceptre was owned by eccentric zoo owner Herbert Whitley, an expert breeder of a huge range of animals, and a particular fascination with ...
'' became the first dog to win ' Best in Show' at
Crufts Crufts is an international dog show held annually in the United Kingdom, held since 1891, and organised by The Kennel Club. It is the largest show of its kind in the world. Crufts is primarily a championship conformation show for dogs, and ...
, from an entry of 9,466 competitors. At the same show, Whitley's greyhound dog, ''Primley Satyr'', also took champion greyhound dog, whilst his English Setter, ''Primley Panda'', was also breed champion. He kept the setters as gun dogs, being a keen country sports enthusiast (and leading to his purchase of Slapton Ley in 1921 as an excellent spot for
waterfowl hunting Waterfowl hunting is the practice of hunting aquatic birds such as ducks, geese and other waterfowls or shorebirds for sport and meat. Waterfowl are hunted in crop fields where they feed, or in areas with bodies of water such as rivers, lakes ...
), and he kept a line of
whippet The Whippet is a British breed of dog of sighthound type. It closely resembles the Greyhound and the smaller Italian Greyhound, and is intermediate between them in size. In the nineteenth century it was sometimes called "the poor man's raceh ...
s to keep the rabbit population down on his estates. His kennel produced four champion Whippets in quick succession - Primley Pattern, Primley Raleigh, Priley Neattie, and Primley Niobe. He also bred
Great Dane The Great Dane is a German list of dog breeds, breed of large mastiff-sighthound, which descends from hunting dogs of the Middle Ages used to hunt bears, wild boar, and deer. They were also used as guardian dogs of German nobility. It is one o ...
s amongst the other dogs, many of which were kept at
Primley House Primley House is a large estate house in Paignton, Devon. Built in the 18th century by the Belfield family, it stayed in family hands until the early 20th century when it was sold to the Whitley family. Herbert Whitley spent considerable time an ...
and controlled the feral cat population. His most successful champion Great Dane was ''Primley Prodigal'', who became champion in 1912. Whitley was also instrumental in improving the
foxhound A foxhound is a type of large hunting hound bred for strong hunting instincts, a keen sense of smell, and their barking, energy, drive, and speed. In fox hunting, the foxhound's namesake, packs of foxhounds track quarry, followed—usually on ho ...
s of the
South Devon Hunt The South Devon Hunt or South Devon Foxhounds is a Fox hunting, foxhound pack in Devon, England. The country spans an area entirely within the county of Devon, predominantly on the East side of Dartmoor, out to the sea. Traditionally, the countr ...
, both during his mastership and in the years after when his brother was master.


Livestock breeding

Herbert was a well known breeder of livestock, and continuing his blue theme, this included success with now critically-endangered Blue Albion cattle. His cows won at the 1908 and 1909 Royal Milking Show trials. Herbert's pigs took top prizes in the Royal Cornwall Show, Devon County Show and Bath and West Show in 1911. In 1920, he sold prize sow ''Primley Godiva'' for 65
guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...
(nearly £4,000 in modern currency).


Pigeons

Herbert was a keen keeper of
pigeon Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...
s, and he had over 150 varieties in his pigeon loft at Primley, which may be the most varieties ever assembled in one collection, and which needed a full-time pigeon manager. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
he contributed to the war effort by providing
homing pigeon The homing pigeon is a variety of domestic pigeon (''Columba livia domestica''), selectively bred for its ability to find its way home over extremely long distances. Because of this skill, homing pigeons were used to carry messages, a practice ...
s to be used as
war pigeon Homing pigeon, Homing pigeons have long played an important role in war. Due to their homing ability, speed, and altitude, they were often used as military messengers. Carrier pigeons of the Racing Homer breed were used to carry messages in Worl ...
s with the Confidential Pigeon Service in the carriage of messages from Europe.


Other birds

From his original interest in animals from a gift of canaries, Herbert kept breeding birds throughout his life. This included the (blue) peacocks which still roam the grounds of the zoo. He was also an officer of The Avicultural Society, and its proceedings note a wide range of breeds and crossbreeds that he kept, including Roulroul, Arabian Chukar, South American
Rails Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters * Railway track or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' (1967 fi ...
, Southern
Stone-curlew The stone-curlews, also known as dikkops or thick-knees, consist of 10 species within the family Burhinidae, and are found throughout the tropical and temperate parts of the world, with two or more species occurring in some areas of Africa, Asia, ...
, crossbreed of Necklace and Senegal Dove, a number of Nyasa lovebird crossbreeds,
Nanday parakeet The nanday parakeet (''Aratinga nenday''), also known as the black-hooded parakeet or nanday conure, is a medium-small, mostly green, Neotropical parrot native to continental South America. Taxonomy The nanday parakeet was previously regarded as ...
s,
Lorikeet Loriini is a tribe of small to medium-sized arboreal parrots characterized by their specialized brush-tipped tongues for feeding on nectar of various blossoms and soft fruits, preferably berries. The species form a monophyletic group within the p ...
s, and
Myna The mynas (; also spelled mynah) are a group of birds in the starling family (Sturnidae). This is a group of passerine birds which are native to Iran and Southern Asia, especially Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lan ...
birds. He also kept large birds, including rheas,
ostrich Ostriches are large flightless birds. Two living species are recognised, the common ostrich, native to large parts of sub-Saharan Africa, and the Somali ostrich, native to the Horn of Africa. They are the heaviest and largest living birds, w ...
and
cassowary Cassowaries (; Biak: ''man suar'' ; ; Papuan: ''kasu weri'' ) are flightless birds of the genus ''Casuarius'', in the order Casuariiformes. They are classified as ratites, flightless birds without a keel on their sternum bones. Cassowaries a ...
.


Horses

Whitley was a keen rider, especially for
fox hunting Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, normally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of hounds" ...
, and he maintained a horse stud nearby at Whitehill Farm around a mile from Primley House, at what is now Whitehill Country Park. When a
fire brigade A fire department (North American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire company, fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and ...
was established locally, Herbert provided horses from his stud to pull the engines. His horse breed interests were of all sizes, including Shetland ponies with his stallions such as '' Primley Quixote'' siring generations of ponies, through to
shire horse The Shire is a breed of draft horse, draught horse originally from England. The Shire has a great capacity for weight-pulling; it was used for agriculture, farm work, to tow barges at a time when the Canals of the United Kingdom, canal system ...
s where he purchased champion shire horse stallion ''Tatton Dray King'' to breed from, and also had his own string of shire stallions such as ''Primley Bellivor'' which won at the Bath and West Show in 1911 and the Shire Horse Show at Islington in 1913.


Plants

Whitley filled the greenhouses at Primley with varieties of plants, and ran a successful propagation business. He donated plants to the gardens at Roundham Head. He created a range of cultivars - particularly in a blue colour, and named ''Primley Blue'' - although some have now been lost. This included breeds of mallow,
rosemary ''Salvia rosmarinus'' (), commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers. It is a member of the sage family, Lamiaceae. The species is native to the Mediterranean r ...
, and hebe. The
Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...
still lists a number of 'Primley Blue' cultivars in their catalogue, including: *
Malva sylvestris ''Malva sylvestris'' is a species of the mallow genus ''Malva'', of which it the type species. Known as common mallow to English-speaking Europeans, it acquired the common names of cheeses, high mallow and tall mallow (mauve des bois by the Fre ...
'Primley Blue' *
Salvia rosmarinus ''Salvia rosmarinus'' (), commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers. It is a member of the sage family, Lamiaceae. The species is native to the Mediterranean re ...
'Primley Blue' *
Rosmarinus officinalis ''Salvia rosmarinus'' (), commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers. It is a member of the sage family, Lamiaceae. The species is native to the Mediterranean r ...
'Primley Blue'


Slapton Ley

In 1921, Slapton Ley, a unique freshwater lake separated from the sea by a glacial shingle bank, was at threat of being drained and developed as a holiday resort, and Herbert stepped in to purchase the land. This was due to twin interests in both helping to preserve it, and because of the quality of its
waterfowl hunting Waterfowl hunting is the practice of hunting aquatic birds such as ducks, geese and other waterfowls or shorebirds for sport and meat. Waterfowl are hunted in crop fields where they feed, or in areas with bodies of water such as rivers, lakes ...
. The lake is the largest natural freshwater lake in the South West, and is a
Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
and a designated National Nature Reserve. The ley passed to the Herbert Whitley Trust on his death, and is still owned by the successor Wild Planet Trust, under the management of the
Field Studies Council Field Studies Council is an educational charity based in the UK, which offers opportunities for people to learn about and engage with the outdoors. History The organisation was established as the Council for the Promotion of Field Studies in ...


Personal life

Whitley was a lifelong bachelor, said to be 'terrified' of women. His closest aide, however, was Gladys Salter who worked for him for over 40 years, including nursing him as his health declined in later life. On his death, she received a considerable sum from his fortune, as well as the use of a large section of Primley House which she lived in until her death in 1978. He was a private man, and chain smoker. He was often reclusive, to the point of hiding in the lofts of the house when visitors came, and only emerging once they had left. He was accustomed to sleeping in chair, rather than in bed. Whitley used his wealth to be an early car owner, and his
Austro-Daimler Austro-Daimler was an Austrian car manufacturer from 1899 until 1934. It was a subsidiary of the Germany, German ''Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft'' (DMG) until 1909. History In 1890, Eduard Bierenz was appointed as Austrian retailer. The company so ...
27/80 Prince Henry was one of only around 50 built, and following its sale by the estate following his death, it later appeared in the film
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 children's film, children's Musical film, musical fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes and produced by Albert R. Broccoli. It stars Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries, Gert Fröbe, Anna Quayle, ...
as Lord Scrumptious' car. Whilst he kept extensive notes of his work in breeding, he requested that these be destroyed upon his death. At his death, he left the zoo and estate to a trust called the "Herbert Whitley Trust", to be managed by friend and
entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...
Alfred Michelmore (son of a renowned local solicitor). Michelmore resigned his job with the
Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created in 1768 from the Southern Department to deal with colonial affairs in North America (particularly the Thirteen Colo ...
to take up the full-time role running the estate. Whitley is buried in the Whitley family plot at Buckland-in-the-Moor.


References


External links


Paignton Zoo official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitley, Herbert Zoo directors Zoo owners 1886 births 1955 deaths