Bristol Zoo Gardens puts memorabilia up for auction offering chance to secure piece of history
The former Bristol Zoo Gardens - which was one of the oldest in the World - is giving people the chance to own a piece of its history, as ITV West Country's Charlotte Gay reports
One of the world's oldest zoos is giving people the opportunity to own a piece of its history by putting items from its former site up for sale.
Hundreds of signs, sculptures and benches from Bristol Zoo will be sold at auction next month, to raise money for its new site in South Gloucestershire.
The Bristol Zoological Society said more than 340 items are available, but anything of historical value has already been sent to the city council's archives.
To ensure items of sentimental value were returned, the charity asked people to get in touch if they had any personal items at the site.
It has since returned everything from plaques on benches, to portraits.
All the money raised will help fund the creation of a new conservation zoo at Bristol Zoo Project near J17 of the M5, as well as the charity’s conservation and education work.
The Society announced the closure of Bristol Zoo Gardens in 2020, and it closed its doors to the public two years later. Since then, the charity has been preparing the site for sale.
To preserve as much as possible, a specialist archivist was brought in to identify items of historical value, which are now stored in Bristol City Council archives.
The charity has also repurposed as much as possible, including Bristol Zoo Project’s new red panda habitat which has been made from an old Clifton enclosure.
Two online auction catalogues went live on Friday 1 November, and are being run by the Bristol-based company Auctioneum Ltd.
The first auction, featuring more than three hundred lots of memorabilia, will start at 10am on Friday 22 November and will be broadcast live online for bidders all over the world to take part.
Bids can be placed in advance, or people can tune in to the live event on 22 November.
The second auction features 45 of the zoo’s iconic Victorian benches, which were created especially for the zoo between 1850 and 1880 and located around the gardens.
This is an online-only sale that will end at 8pm on Monday 25 November, with bids being accepted until the time runs down.
Justin Morris, Chief Executive of Bristol Zoological Society, said: “This is an exciting time for us as a conservation and education charity, as we embark on plans to build a new conservation zoo at Bristol Zoo Project.
“We know the former Bristol Zoo Gardens holds a special place in the hearts of so many people who visited or who were associated with it in some way, which is why we have taken our time to ensure any items of particular historical or sentimental value were preserved.
"With the launch of these auctions we hope people will take the opportunity to join us in celebrating our long history while also helping to fund the future, by securing their own piece of the gardens.”
The Society is also holding a gala dinner and auction on Friday 15 November, where several additional items will be up for sale. They include ceramic animal sculptures, statues and signage.