Nicholas the hippo at Belle Vue Zoo in Manchester is fed with a cake brought for him in June 1960 (Image: Mirrorpix) 35 of 40. Travellers passing through Piccadilly Train Station are been treated to a display of Maharajah an Elephant skeleton from Manchester Museum who will be on show for two weeks. The brainchild of John Jennison, the gardens were initially intended to be an entertainment for the genteel middle classes, with formal gardens and dancing on open-air platforms during the summer, but they soon became one of the most popular attractions in Northern England. Belle Vue skipper Steve Worrall believes fans would be ‘desperate’ to see as much racing as possible should the new season start… BREAKING: October For SoN > The 2020 Monster Energy FIM Speedway of Nations has undergone a timetable revision in the wake of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic that sees the finals in Manchester moved to October… Before moving to Belle Vue, Jennison, a part-time gardener, had run Belle Vue is an area of Manchester, England, east of the city centre, bordered by the Hope Valley Line on the east and the Glossop Line on the west. Opened in 1836, Belle Vue zoo started life as a small private collection of birds owned by gardener John Jennison. A Zoo History: Zoo Stories: Zoo Staff-- Staff List-- Lorenzo Lawrence-- The Craythornes-- Matt Kelly-- Gerald Iles: The Animals: Childrens' Zoo: Tropical Aquarium: Birds: Giraffes: Zebras: Elephants: Hippos: Lions, Tigers & Other Cats: Peggy the Leopard: Adelaide and George The place: Belle Vue Zoo, Manchester, Lancashire bear Belle Vue zoo gorton manchester. Belle Vue Zoological Gardens was a large zoo, amusement park, exhibition hall complex and speedway stadium in Belle Vue, Manchester, England, opened in 1836. But his vision for a vast Victorian … Manchester, UK, 6th June, 2019.