School visit to Tovil Zoo (1914)

Post date: Jan 22, 2014 3:13:26 PM

Extract from the August 1914 Parish magazine recounting a school trip to Tovil Zoo on the day after Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo.

AN AFTERNOON AT THE "ZOO."

A happy party of Wateringbury school girls (56 of us) with our teachers thoroughly enjoyed an afternoon's visit to the Tovil Zoological Gardens on June 29th.

We started about one o'clock from Wateringbury Station, and when we got to Tovil we walked in groups to the Gardens. The day was very hot, and the journey and walk made us all so hot that we were glad to sit down under some shady trees a little while to get cool. Then we walked round to see the animals. A great many of them we had never seen before, but only had heard and read about in our geography lessons, and it was very interesting to be able to see them.

The first was a zebu, or sacred ox, with horns and a hump, and was very ugly; then we came to a dromedary and its baby, which made such an awful noise that it frightened us at first, but we soon got used to it.

We walked on a little farther to a paddock, where we saw some kangaroos, which made us all laugh the way they hopped about on their hind legs with their young ones hanging out of their pouches. Then we came to some beautiful birds, amongst whom was a beautiful peacock, which opened out its lovely tail, and kept turning round and round as if it wanted us all to see it. The parrots next took our attention and were great fun, for some of them could talk, and kept asking us how we were. Most of them had brilliant plumage.

Postcard of a leopard at Tovil court zoo, near Maidstone, 1914 - note the airbrushing of the bars to make the leopard more visible.

(Image from the book We Went To The Zoo Today: The Golden Age Of Zoo Postcards, with permission of author).

Then we came to several lions, where there were two very fierce handsome ones, which paced up and down and then thumped back. One frightened us by springing at the bars of the cage, and knocking out an iron hook. In the same row of cages were a leopard, hyaenas, and bears.

At last we came to something that we had been longing for all the time, which was the monkey cage. The monkeys amused us very much for some time, scampering about the cage, hanging on by their tails and swinging to and fro; we gave them some nuts which they took so gently, they stuffed them all into their pouches, and afterwards fetched them out, and ate them one by one.

Postcard of a baboon at Tovil court zoo, near Maidstone, 1914 - note the changed background in the two photos, suggesting it may be in transit.

(Image from the book We Went To The Zoo Today: The Golden Age Of Zoo Postcards, with permission of author).

We had then been all round the gardens, and looked at everything. Then we came to the tea-room. and by this time we were all ready for our tea, as we had dinner very early, and were soon enjoying a very nice one, in a large cool tea room. After tea, at 4 o'clock, we saw the lions and other animals fed. As enough money had been kept from the subscribed amount, each girl was able to have rides on the camel and donkey. Some of us thought the donkey rides the greatest fun and others liked the camel. It was so tall, that we had to climb up a ladder to get on its back; four of us rode together, and we jolted about in a curious swinging manner, that did not quite suit every girl!

At six o'clock we left the Gardens for Tovil Station¹, as the train went at 6.16, and we arrived at Wateringbury about half-past six, very pleased with our afternoon's outing.

Although the day was so hot we all had a lovely time, and we all wish to thank the ladies and gentlemen very much who so kindly subscribed the money to pay our expenses.

(The railway fares, entrance to the Zoological Gardens and animal rides were all reduced.)

FROM SOME OF THE PARTY

My thanks to Robert Cook for bringing the postcards to my attention.

Notes:

1. Tovil Station used to be located at the bottom end of Bower Lane, where the footbridge over the railway still stands. The station was located just to the west of the bridge. It was closed in 1943.

2. (source circusnospin.blogspot.co.uk) Hugh Garrad Tyrwhitt-Drake began collecting wild animals in 1900, and these were first shown at Cobtree in 1912. In 1914, he opened 'Maidstone Zoological and Pleasure Gardens' in Tovil Court and 250 animals were moved from Cobtree to Tovil. The first World War, caused the closure of the Tovil Zoo, and 50 animals were sold to the Bronx Zoo, New York, USA. In 1934, some animals returned to Cobtree and the Zoo Park re-opened. The Zoo just stayed open in the 2nd World War but eventually the Zoo closed in 1959,as they could not maintain high services of care. The animals were then sent to other zoo's. Most buildings were removed. The Elephant House remained and was restored by the Cobtree Charity Trust and is now a permanent reminder of the zoo

3. In the Kent Messenger of 15th August 1918 there is an advert for Maidstone Zoo where "animal rides, dancing etc., Orchestral " are featured. It was open 11.00 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. every weekday at a price of 6d. for adults and 3d. for children.