Belle Vue Zoological Gardens - Gardens and Amusement Park

Gardens and Amusement Park

Under the Jennisons, the main priorities for Belle Vue were the zoological and botanical gardens; amusements were provided merely as a distraction. The Jennisons laid out formal gardens in various styles between 1836 and 1898, including mazes, grottoes, an Italian garden, "billiard-table lawns" and constructed Tropical Plant Houses. There were also exotic constructions like the Indian temple and grotto, designed by George Danson, Belle Vue's scenic artist. Built to resemble a ruined temple, it housed snakes and crocodiles as well as flowers. At the end of the 19th century, "the resort relied almost entirely for its attraction on its delightful gardens", but by 1931 the formalism had entirely disappeared. The gardens were also used to stage large political rallies for a wide spectrum of opinion, such as the Great Liberal Demonstration of 1924, at which Lloyd George addressed a crowd of 50,000, the first political meeting at which loudspeakers were used. The British Union of Fascists, popularly known as the Blackshirts, also held a meeting there, in September 1934. One contemporary commentator observed that "perhaps the Ku Klux Klan will be found in session there one day, for Belle Vue is nothing if not catholic".

The Jennisons set out a small amusements area near the main entrance to the gardens in Hyde Road during the 1870s, comprising steam-driven attractions such as the Ocean Wave, installed in 1894, which simulated a storm at sea.

John Henry Iles, who took over control of Belle Vue in 1925, believed that expansion of the rides and the fun aspect of the park was the way forward, and added attractions such as dodgems, the Caterpillar, the Ghost Train, Jack & Jill, and the Flying Sea Planes. The Scenic Railway, purchased in 1925 but not fully operational until 1927, proved to be one of Belle Vue's most popular rides, and remained in use until 1975.

The Bobs rollercoaster was arguably the most popular ride of all, so named because it cost a bob (shilling) for admission. It had an 80-foot (24 m) drop at a 45 degree angle, down which the cars travelled at 60 miles per hour (97 km/h). It was built by Harry Traver and designed by Fredrick Church, who had to develop a series of engineering innovations to make the ride possible. The Bobs' distinctive white-painted wooden superstructure became an imposing element of the Belle Vue skyline.

When the zoo closed in 1977, it was announced that the gardens and amusement park would be expanded with "new active leisure pursuits". By 1978 the site had been renamed Belle Vue Leisure Park, and the Tropical River House had been converted to a skateboard arena in an attempt to cash in on the new craze from America. The arena turned out to be poor investment however, as there was virtually no demand after the first few months. The 1977 closure of the London Festival Gardens in Battersea, London, allowed Belle Vue the opportunity to buy their Jetstream ride, which opened the following year.

Other attractions that closed at about the same time as the zoo included the boating on Firework Lake, and the miniature railway. In 1979 the amusement park was leased to the main concessionaire, Alf Wadbrooke, although by then it was only open at weekends during the summer season. The long-promised restoration of the Scenic Railway had not happened and the Water Chute had closed. In August 1980, Wadbrooke was given notice to close down the park by 26 October 1980 and to have all his equipment removed by February 1981.