Hull used to have a Zoo - and this hidden yard is one of the few signs of it left 🤯 скачать в хорошем качестве

Hull used to have a Zoo - and this hidden yard is one of the few signs of it left 🤯

This is the Zoo Keepers Yard, which sat derelict for 30 years before Andrew and Kim from Gomersall Partnership brought it back to life! As they cleared the site, they uncovered all sorts of relics from its past - from a butter label and telegram dating back decades, to straw bedding, enamel signs and stacks of invoices from the 1940s to the 60s. Each discovery sparked a deeper fascination with the site’s history and led them down a rabbit hole that uncovered decades of amazing history. Originally built as a cow keeper’s yard and dairy in the late 1800s, the site has seen many lives - from taxi garages in the 1920s to a builders’ yard run by the Dalby family for three generations. Today, it’s a working fireplace factory, stonemason’s yard and sculpture studio, run by award-winning restoration specialists whose work includes Hull Minster and Lincoln Cathedral. It’s also a celebration of Hull’s lost Zoological Gardens, which once stood directly across the street in what is now Peel Street Park! There are a few hints of its existence around the area, like the Polar Bear Music Club, which got its name from the original location lining up with the zoo’s polar bear pit! There are the stones on Spring Bank that mark the path the elephants took on their walks and a few statues and sculptures too, but the yard has the strongest links. The house across the way is related too, and once belonged to taxidermist John Seaman, who had the largest exhibit of taxidermied animals in the region - because unfortunately, the zookeepers didn't understand the exotic animals and how to look after them properly! Please note that the yard is a private business - they open to the public occasionally for events like Heritage Open Days, but you can’t just pop along to explore! If you’re ever passing by though, there’s a plaque on the gate with info - as well as a QR code you can scan for a brochure. Let us know if you've got any old stories about the place!