Brilliant photo's. One point made that is not true and that is the Octopus was not there when the grounds closed. It was removed (sold?) many years before that. I can vaguely remember it in the late fifties and it disappeared. At one point it was sited where they built the base for the chairlift.
I really enjoyed reading this. You can see from these pics and descriptions why it was such a great tourist attraction. Must have been fab. The water chute and the lake etc must have been brill. Thank you for sharing this with us all.
great read, do you have any details on the menagerie?
There doesn't seem to be much information on the menagerie, all I've been able to find so far is that the menagerie was not among the attraction in the Tower Grounds when they opened on 7th June 1897, this is confirmed by an advert for the Tower which appeared in The Era on 17th April 1997 which includes the Menagerie in the list of attractions ‘in preparation’.
A report in the Liverpool Mercury for April 1st 1899 states “A new attraction on the Fair Grounds will be a large menagerie, which arrived in the Mersey last night by steamer from Havra. The wild animals will be conveyed across the river from Liverpool landing stage during this forenoon by the Wallasey luggage boats, and will be on exhibition later in the day”.
Adverts for the tower, which appeared regularly the Mercury, included the "Grand Menagerie” until 17th May, when it changed to “Menagerie and Lion House – a magnificent collection of animals from all parts of the world”. The same edition of the Mercury reports “The menagerie has been increased by a fine group of six young leopards, whilst a handsome white bear and a grand Russian brown bear have found a new abode in two very fine cages on the fair ground”.
The regular adverts in the mercury changed again in June 1899 with the addition of a Monkey House.
The 1912 guide to the tower states “... at the rear of the [Scenic] railway one may inspect the open-air Zoological Pens, whilst further on is the Shooting Gallery and the Menagerie and Lion House. The menagerie contains a most interesting and varied collection from all parts of the world, including the celebrated Lion, ‘Pasha’, acknowledged to be one of the finest in captivity, and, in addition, the huge favourite elephant ‘Punch’.
I remember going to see the banger car racing with my dad every week as a nipper on the site of the old football grounds i think!!!
Is the closing date for the minature railway correct?? I was born in 65 and have vuage memories of it! Anyone know the minature railway in someones back garden in Moreton? Just off Upton Rd somewhere. went there as a kid
Ah yes, the art of smashing up classic cars......Mindless bliss!!!! LOL. Yeah, remember it well. Think my dads mate drove. His name would have beem Dave Cross or his brother Mike. They owned the scrappies at the bottom of Cross Lane in Leasowe.
...used to be very popular with Tony Wilson, the guy from Granada TV and the Manchester music scene ('Factory Records'). A regular visitor at the Tower Grounds banger racing.
Is the closing date for the minature railway correct??
I'm fairly confident of the date of closure of the line, as it has been extensively researched by the Miniature Railway Investigation Group, also, the newsletter of the Ranemglass and Eskdale Railway records the arrival of the Jaywick saloon carriages and the Rushton diesel at their railway on 8th October 1965. For completeness, the carriages where sold in 1975 and in 1978 where moved to the Narrow Gauge Railway Centre at Gloddfa Ganol (near Blaenau Ffestiniog). Two of the three where scrapped when the centre closed in 1997.
The remainder of the New Brighton equipment, which included the track, one open 'toast rack' type carriage, the frames and axels of Tim Bobbin and the un-serviceable 'Crompton' remained in storage at New Brighton until 1968 when it was sold for use on the Bromyard and Linton Light Railway. In 1985 Crompton was sold to John Selway of Walsall, who planned to restore it to its original condition.
When I was a kid living in Egerton St (1950s) the far side of the tower building (river side) had a "zoo" which I think cost 2/- to enter and was just the length of the tower building with animals in cages on the river side, it was just a 2 min walk past a few bedraggled specimens which wasn't that good.
At some point the "zoo" was moved to the higher ground between the tower and the quarry right on the edge of the grounds I remember clearly that it had an open pen with wolves in it, that must have been the early 60s because I took a photo of a wolf with my 120 film camera from woolies. I then went on to the Guiness clock which was just uphill from the new zoo, while I waited for parent to come out of the rakers bar, I was too young to appreciate a zoo like that, Chester was much better.
