E01 → Menagerie/Circus

Around the 17th century, European explorers who traded globally occasionally brought back diverse exotic animals to Britain for royalty and aristocrats, who then created menageries to house these animals. For example, a cassowary was bought by Gilbert Pidcock to show around the UK, but it died while traveling since he did not understand the animal beforehand. Not giving up, he stuffed the carcass and displayed the preserved bird so his investment was not completely lost. The animals often showed discomfort and distress since they were not placed in their natural habitats. Some recalled seeing white polar bears appearing extremely uneasy, confined in their cages and chained to the floor. In 1900, Parlianment introduced an act to prevent cruelty to animals in captivity

The Bostock & Wombwell’s Menageries was located on Glasgow Green until 1871, when the council decided the menageries should no longer be shown there. In 1872, they moved to Dalhousie Street, close to Bath Street. Decades later, in 1908, Albert Pickard opened a small menageri in the Panopticon Theater, but all the menageries started to dissapear in the early twentieth century.

However, the menagerie was included in the Kelvin Hall Carnival and Circus as part of the attraction from 1921 until the 1980s

Kelvin Hall has changed its function several times. In the 1980s, it housed the Museum of Transport. In 2014, it served as a centre for the XX Commonwealth Games. Currently, it has become an exhibition of historical footage and a library by The National Library of Scotland