Chester Zoo
Moston Road, Upton-by-Chester, Chester CH2 1LH
animated by: Andrew Woolham, Penguin Keeper at Chester Zoo
"My aim is to foster an interest in animals and bird life and that is encouraged greatly if people can take photographs of them in their natural positions.”
George Mottershead, Founder of Chester Zoo, 1931
Oakfield House was a stately home until 1931, when George Mottershead moved in and everything changed. A committed animal lover, Mottersead set about transforming the grounds into an extraordinary new thing: a zoo without bars! Using moats and ditches as an alternative to Victorian iron cages, he helped pioneer modern zoo design. Today, Chester Zoo is the UK’s most visited zoo. It covers 125 acres and is home to 15,000 animals of 500 different species.