Bristol Zoo to auction off hundreds of items in huge fundraising sale

Bristol Zoo is to auction off hundreds of items of memorabilia, from signs to sculptures and statues to Victorian benches from its historic site in Clifton - to help fund the expansion of its site on the edge of the city.

The iconic zoo, one of the oldest in the world, closed in 2022, and now the conservation and education charity that ran it is to hold two public auctions to raise money to support the development of the Bristol Zoo Project, its site just outside Bristol near Cribbs Causeway.

The first auction will feature more than 300 hundred lots of memorabilia later this month, from historic posters and signs to larger objects including animal sculptures.

A second auction three days later will feature 45 of the zoo’s original Victorian benches, created especially for the zoo between 1850 and 1880 and located around the gardens.

The zoo said that, since the closure on September 1, 2022, it brought in a specialist archivist to identify items of historical value, and these have now been stored in the city council’s archives. Other objects of sentimental value - like memorial plaques, paintings and other items that might have been donated to the zoo - have been returned to people who wanted them back, and the Zoological Society has ‘repurposed’ as much as possible, including some of the old enclosures that have been moved to the Bristol Zoo Project at Easter Compton.

What is left runs into hundreds of items - and the first auction will have more than 300 lots. “This is an exciting time for us as a conservation and education charity, as we embark on plans to build a new conservation zoo at Bristol Zoo Project,” said Justin Morris, the chief executive of Bristol Zoological Society.

“We know the former Bristol Zoo Gardens holds a special place in the hearts of so many people who visited or who were associated with it in some way, which is why we have taken our time to ensure any items of particular historical or sentimental value were preserved.

“With the launch of these auctions we hope people will take the opportunity to join us in celebrating our long history while also helping to fund the future, by securing their own piece of the gardens,” he added.

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The first auction will take place online from 10am on Friday, November 22. Bids can be placed in advance or online with the live event. The second auction featuring the benches will take place the following Monday, November 25, from 8pm.

Before all that, the Zoological Society is also holding a gala dinner and auction on Friday, November 15, where several exclusive additional items will be up for sale. They include ceramic animal sculptures, statues and signage.

The Zoo site itself is currently the subject of a legal battle. After it closed the Clifton site, the Zoological Society was granted planning permission by Bristol City Council to build around 200 new homes around the edge of the zoo gardens site. The Zoo intends to sell the entire site to a developer, and use the funds to help the expansion of the Zoo Project site - which was previously known as the Wild Place, near junction 17 of the M5.

But that sale is on hold, because a coalition of local residents, environmentalists and campaigners, have lodged a judicial review against the city council for the way it processed and dealt with the planning application for the residential development.

Earlier this week, Bristol Live revealed that the Save Bristol Gardens Alliance had persuaded the judge in the case that all three of its arguments had merit and should form the basis of the case, which is not expected to be heard until the New Year.

The Save Bristol Gardens Alliance said it wants to stop the proposed development and then work on a different future for the Clifton site, which could include reopening a visitor attraction within the historic gardens - albeit those gardens now look set to be stripped of the historic benches and other features from the zoo.

Andrew Stowe, the associate director at Auctioneum, said: “It’s a real honour to be hosting these auctions on behalf of Bristol Zoological Society, and to help them raise vital funds. As a Bristol-based company we appreciate the significance, the importance, and the nostalgia these items hold for so many people.

“All of the items tell stories and share a narrative through our collected social history - there are objects from the zoo’s very beginnings, through to both World Wars, and items that remained after the site closed in 2022,” he added.

“Anyone who ever visited Bristol Zoo Gardens will see something they remember. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for anyone to own a unique piece of Bristol Zoo Gardens history,” he said.

Zoo boss Justin Morris added: “All of the funds raised from the online auction and gala event will support our charitable work and new conservation zoo at Bristol Zoo Project.

“Work is now well underway with the creation of a new Central African Forest habitat which will become home to our troop of Critically Endangered western lowland gorillas, led by Jock.

“The group will be joined by other highly threatened species including cherry-crowned mangabeys, slender snouted crocodiles, African grey parrots and a number of different species of African freshwater fish,” he added.