Yes, you read that right!
In the 1920s and early 1930s, Stapenhill House opened the ‘Stapenhill Zoological Pleasure Garden’ within its grounds, a section that is now a small car park and children’s playground off the Dingle that runs down from Ferry Street to the Ferry Bridge.
It had a traditional Bear Pit; when the bear eventually died, it went to a taxidermist and can still be seen in Derby museum. The greatest attraction was three crocodiles, two large ones and a smaller one. The picture shows that Health and Safety regulations were slightly more relaxed than they are today!
The zoo also hosted a monkey enclosure and a number of aviaries.
