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Spring Bank Elephant Walk Events
Spring Bank Elephant Walk Events
The Elephant Sculpture is Installed
Trail Markers are laid along Spring Bank
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Spring Bank Elephant Walk Events
Location: City of Kingston Upon Hull
8 June 2005
Where the Elephant Trod
Venue: Spring Bank, Hull
Imagine walking in the footsteps of Hull Zoological Gardens' elephant! Well, this is exactly what the "Where the Elephant Trod" event offered local residents. Whilst her home in the Gardens was being completed, the elephant was temporarily housed at the eastern end of Spring Bank, in Pryme Street. "Where the Elephant Trod" was a walk, led by local historian Chris Ketchell, retracing the route the elephant used to take with her keepers on a daily basis for a number of weeks in 1840.
Those joining the walk started at the Pryme Street site and, through examining a Hull plan of the 1840's, were able to discuss whereabouts on the street the elephant may have been housed. Detailed research by Ron Seniscal gave walkers an indication of where the grocer's shop that the elephant tried to enter was (believed to be the current site of The Celebration Centre).
In addition to talking about the buildings that the elephant and her keepers would have seen and the condition of Spring Bank all that time ago. Chris's heritage tour also included an exploration of all four boundaries of the Zoological Gardens. The event provided local people with an excellent opportunity to learn more about their area and its heritage and pointed out current day references to those times (the Polar Bear Public house and the Eagle pub (now the Tap & Spile) both of which were run by men involved in the Zoological Gardens.
13 August 2005
Elephant Walk Exhibition
Venue: Spring Bank Community Centre
The Spring Bank International Fun Day provided us with the perfect opportunity to promote the Spring Bank Elephant Walk and raise awareness of local heritage to the 1,000 local residents who attended.
5 display boards professionally prepared from project team briefs described the project and provided information on the Zoological Gardens. A range of Zoological Garden related activities got both children and adults involved as they decorated plaster elephants, bears and hippos, sponge painted jungle scenes and coloured and assembled animal fingerpuppets.
Members of the Hull Youth Theatre, through Hull Truck Theatre entertained the children with stories about animals. Gingerbread elephants were munched and Spring Bank Elephant fans donned felt elephant ears for the afternoon.
A series of maps and photos of Spring Bank illustrated the siting of the Zoological Gardens and provided images of how Spring Bank looked in the early 1900s.
After the success of the exhibition at the Fun Day, we are hoping to replicate the event during the Autumn to provide more residents with an opportunity to learn more about their local heritage and get involved with the project.
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