Introduction
Back in 1998 I managed to secure a job in the zoo at Chessington having previously completed my work experience there as part of my animal management studies. Growing up locally in Claygate I had visited Chessington from a young age with my father and brother, as had my mother when she was a child, and over the years I had heard some fascinating stories. As a young man starting out in the working world with the dream job the idea of the past, a different version of the 'now', captivated me.
For me, the zoos past seemed exotic and exciting and I was surprised to see the history was not something anyone appeared to care about, let alone archive. Zoos in general had gone through a period of being unpopular, with the change of attitudes towards keeping animals in captivity, and the park had reinvented itself with roller-coasters and thrill-seeking rides with a now small zoo still trying to hold its own alongside the theme park.
I felt a strange, almost uncanny sense of loss, for a past I had never known. This feeling and fascination remained with me as my career grew and I slowly amassed a large collection of memorabilia, photographs and stories that are now the basis of this site. The site started off back in 2003 as far as I can remember and was initially a personal log of the information and stories that I came across whilst looking in to the past histories of a collection that I was now part of in the present…
I hope the site will help record the past for future generations that now enjoy the modern day Chessington World of Adventures resort and bring back memories of how things were for those that visited as a child. Fingers crossed it will encourage others whom have a history with Chessington to share their stories and images here for when we are no longer around to tell the tales.
For me, the zoos past seemed exotic and exciting and I was surprised to see the history was not something anyone appeared to care about, let alone archive. Zoos in general had gone through a period of being unpopular, with the change of attitudes towards keeping animals in captivity, and the park had reinvented itself with roller-coasters and thrill-seeking rides with a now small zoo still trying to hold its own alongside the theme park.
I felt a strange, almost uncanny sense of loss, for a past I had never known. This feeling and fascination remained with me as my career grew and I slowly amassed a large collection of memorabilia, photographs and stories that are now the basis of this site. The site started off back in 2003 as far as I can remember and was initially a personal log of the information and stories that I came across whilst looking in to the past histories of a collection that I was now part of in the present…
I hope the site will help record the past for future generations that now enjoy the modern day Chessington World of Adventures resort and bring back memories of how things were for those that visited as a child. Fingers crossed it will encourage others whom have a history with Chessington to share their stories and images here for when we are no longer around to tell the tales.
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