Mark's History
The Old Bear Pit Headingley
This is the Bear Pit on Cardigan Road in Headingley. It was part of the Leeds Zoological & Botanical Gardens which opened in 1840. Funds were limited and the only large animal they could afford was a Bear which was bought in 1843. The bear was viewed from the top of the turrets. Sunday opening of the gardens was not welcomed by the church and when a vote was held and the church was defeated it was agreed the gardens would open on a Sunday but you had to buy the ticket on a Saturday from a shop on Briggate. The Gardens were divided into building plots and sold off from 1869. I am not sure what happened to the Leeds Bear but the one at Rosherville Gardens at Gravesend, in Kent, was skinned and its meat sold to the local Queens Hotel for the guests to eat
The Old Bear Pit Headingley
This is the Bear Pit on Cardigan Road in Headingley. It was part of the Leeds Zoological & Botanical Gardens which opened in 1840. Funds were limited and the only large animal they could afford was a Bear which was bought in 1843. The bear was viewed from the top of the turrets. Sunday opening of the gardens was not welcomed by the church and when a vote was held and the church was defeated it was agreed the gardens would open on a Sunday but you had to buy the ticket on a Saturday from a shop on Briggate. The Gardens were divided into building plots and sold off from 1869. I am not sure what happened to the Leeds Bear but the one at Rosherville Gardens at Gravesend, in Kent, was skinned and its meat sold to the local Queens Hotel for the guests to eat