Whitson Court Zoological Garden

[NothingIncorporated]

Hi there, as you can see I'm new to this forum so a big hello to all of you.

I'm very glad that there have been people with a keen interest in Whitson court.
I've lived in the town of Caldicot for about 20 years without ever knowing that the court existed, I remember a while back in school someone said that they wanted to break into a spooky old house in Whitson.. I was quite intruiged to know that there was a big spooky old house, but thought nothing of it.

It wasn't until recently that a friend of mine admitted that they had gone to Whitson court, only to discover that it had indeed been a private zoo. I couldn't get over the idea of this, and decided to do some homework to find out as much as possible.
With the help of a historian friend of mine from Newport, I was able to put together a large amount of history that the house had, only to later find that it was all on Wikipedia anyway.

The reason why I've posted this today, is becuase in a matter of hours I am due for a tour of Whitson Court and grounds including the remaining parts of the zoo. I will take as many photos as I can and upload them to you as soon as I get back.

I have been in contact with the current owner of the house, who is restoring it back to a family home.

I'll keep you posted
-Jacob Powell

[whitson court]

Hi everyone,

We are the new owners of Whitson Court, we have enjoyed reading everyones posts over the last couple of months and especially from people who used to work there.

However regarding the last post , we don't recognise your name and you certainly don't have an appointment to meet with us today or our permission to take photos. Whilst we appreciate the interest in the property we would hope that you would respect the fact that this is private property.

[NothingIncorporated]

Hello there.

I believe there was a misunderstanding regarding that post, last week I spoke to a chap who said his name was Dave who works on the site of Whitson court, I asked him if there was still old parts of the zoo still there and if so would it be possible to see them as I was doing a report on the house for a local community website starting up in Newport.
He informed me that he would sort something out and to go back and see him on the Monday, however when I did he wasn't there so I was told by another member of the construction team to go back on Tuesday.
I went there today and the chap Dave I spoke to informed me that he had had no recolection of our conversation and that I should contact the new owners, he then gave me a contact number.

I meant no intrusion by any of this, I just hoped that there would be a possibility of seeing what was a great piece of history and being able to capture it on our heritage website. We have already been looking for members of the public who had been to the zoo when it had been opened to the public.

If there is a chance that I could proceed with this report, and possibly obtain some photos of the old zoo, please contact me, if not, please let me know as that way I can scrap the report and start another, which would be a great shame as my passion for this piece is ever great, and every time I have driven passed Whitson court I have got shivers of excitment.

My name is Jacob Powell, and I can be contacted on: 07972313978

I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards

[levans1970]

I am reading the threads and i am fascinated by them, i had a very breif weekend job in the early 80,s at whitson Zoo and have thought about the place a lot and sometimes even wondered if i had dreamt my visits there as it seems such a forgotten place, i remember being given the job of cleaning out some birds there Cranes if i remember correctly, there was a very old male Lion in a small square cage called Jason as i recall and i remember a keeper who i am sure was called Margaret used to just walk into the cage and virtually put the meat in his mouth he was that tame. I remember my induction to work there was very brief with no info on what was there and i can remember being startled whilst walking down some overgrown paths having a nose around and almost stumbling across a Bear in the smallest of broken down cages. I would be delighted if someone could send me some pictures of the Zoo and maybe the animals as it would finally convince me it was not just some distant vague dream. I also have meories of a slightly phsycotic shetland poney who whilst trying to bite my finger off once got my bus ticket instead!

[levans1970]

Hi Anne
Probably a bit late after your posting but i would happily give up some free time if i could help in any campaign or anything.
kind Regards
Lyn Evans

[Alan.]

Hi,
I just happened upon this site and was delighted to discover so much enthusiasm regarding Whitson Court. (Hi Adam) I like many of you have the fondest memories of the time spent there years ago. As a child I would jump on the bus straight from school to rush through the entrance gates in haste to find Margaret loading a trolley with buckets of maize, seed, fruit and meat ready for the evening feed. On the weekends I’d pack a bag and shiver with excitement in anticipation of staying over. Mrs Maybury was a wonderful lady. She would tell stories of true adventure; recall moments of times past and was a true inspiration of knowledge to so many people. I can remember the animals and have photo’s of them all somewhere. Later as an adult I went back and spent a brief period living at the top of the house. It was so relentlessly cold in the winter, the roof would leak and the water would play a tuneful melody as it dripped into an orchestra buckets underneath. I would spend time in the evening playing scrabble with Mrs Maybury and sometimes her brother. I remember playing the piano in the drawing room and dragging one of the harps into the sitting room where it was warm. I took particular interest in the somewhat sizable aquarium situated underneath the house. Mrs Maybury would tell stories of the different reptiles and I recall her saying her favourite reptile was an iguana called Iggy. The house was enormous and the rooms were grand. The whole place held homely atmospheric warmth despite the cold ambient temperatures during the winter. I remember how a stately four-poster bed would dominate a huge bedroom and then a bathroom with the most elaborate bath, also the lacquered Chinese furniture of the adjoining bedroom. I particularly remember a painting that covered the whole wall in the sitting room that had a small hole somewhere near its centre. Adam, what ever happened to all the furniture? I truly have fond memories of Whitson Court and the zoo. I would be pleased to share photos of the animals to anyone else that can remember them. I drove past not so long ago and was pleased to see that work has started on the restoration. There is scaffolding erected across the front of the house and a boundary wall to the right of the front elevation has been dismantled. Great! I hope this house will still be standing for a few more hundred years to come! email: alan.somers@ntlworld.com