Painting from 1875 (circa)
A new elephant, Maharajah, was bought for the Zoological Gardens at Belle Vue. He smashed the railway carriage he was placed in and so had to walk the 200 mile journey from Edinburgh to Manchester, accompanied by his keeper, Lorenzo Lawrence. A celebrated incident occurred on the journey (possibly at the Hyde Road toll gate): Lorenzo and a tollgate keeper began to argue about the charge for an elephant to use the road. Maharajah wrapped his trunk around the gate, lifted it off its hinges and walked through. Hearing the story, the people of Manchester welcomed this elephant with attitude into the city.
Painting by Heywood Hardy
Mosley StreetManchesterM2 3JL
Free entry Monday - Sunday 10am - 5pm (Thursday to 9pm)
More about this location...
Photo from 1946
Programme from 1848
Welcome to the Showground of the World
Manchester Histories bring Belle Vue back to life
If you have any questions or comments, get in touch - we'd love to hear from you!
Circus | Entertainment | Funfair | Zoo | Sport
By type Photos | Programmes | Objects | Oral History
Legacy around the globe
We're looking for photos, posters, programmes, objects, costumes and memories of your experiences of Belle Vue.
If you have anything you can share with us, we'd love to hear from you - just click here and let us know...
See the latest memories and pieces of history contributed by our visitors.
Get ready to tweet your way through Show and Tell, a digital game running alongside Manchester Histories Festival 2014!
Each day through the festival, we'll release a task to complete in order to earn points and win prizes!
We use cookies to help us provide you with a better service, but do not track anything that can be used to personally identify you.
If you prefer us not to set these cookies, please visit our Cookie Settings page or continue browsing our site to accept them.