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History of CWOA
History of Chessington World of Adventures There are claims that the site is mediaeval and even that Elizabeth I established an archery school for officers on the site!! During the Civil War the farmstead on the site is said to have been burned down by Cromwell’s forces. This is quite likely since there was a lot of activity in this area during the Civil War. Kingston’s bridge was strategically a vital river crossing. It was due to the burning of the house that the name ‘Burnt Stub’ was given to it. There is another possible in which the house got its name. Fairoak Lane was lined with oak trees and these were felled to build Nonsuch Palace in Epsom for Henry VIII. After felling, the stumps of the trees were burned out. During the 17th century the site was used for a wayside alehouse. Presumably, the farmstead was built on a slightly grander scale in the 18th/19th century and further extended and embellished last century. The estate came into the hands of the Vere Barker family and the house and surrounding land was sold in 1931 by the Barker estate to Reginal Goddard. Goddard had become wealthy by quarrying slate in Wales and converting it for use in billiard tables in his factory in Battersea. Goddard, who is buried at St Mary’s, Chessington, opened the house and animal collection to visitors on July 28th 1931. It was an immediate success. Goddard ran the business, called it Chessington Zoo and died on Christmas Day 1946. The zoo came into the hands of the Standard Industrial Holdings Group and during the 1950s SIHG was taken over by Pearson and the zoo activity was run on a shoestring. In 1978, the Tussauds Group owned Madame Tussauds and the Planetarium, Tolgus Tin (a tin mine in Cornwall) and Wookey Hole Caves (in Somerset). Tussauds approached Pearson to buy the zoo because they thought they could run it more efficiently. Pearson liked their cheek and bought them instead. Although Pearson’s main business was media, it was fashionable in the late 70’s to own a mix of products and they saw burgeoning leisure as a potential diversification. Chessington invested heavily in the infrastructure (hard car park, etc.) but neglected the show. Entrance prices had to go up to support the investment. Visitors voted with their feet and went elsewhere. By 1981 Chessington Zoo was technically bankrupt. The directors decided that zoos no longer had the pulling they had once had and approached RBK (Royal Borough of Kingston) planners about changing the orientation of the Park to that of a North American theme park. RBK were supportive but said that Chessington would need to appoint planning consultants to advise on the change. In 1982 a planning consultant was brought in and in 1984 a blue print for the future had been put together. Prince Edward opened the new theme park, Chessington World of Adventures, in July 1987. To start with it consisted of the Dragon River area, Calamity Canyon and the 5th Dimension, and Circusworld. In 1990, Transylvania (£8m) with the Vampire followed some more rides along with Professor Burp’s Bubbleworks. 1994 Terrortomb (+ plaza) – replaced 5th Dimension 1995 Forbidden Kingdom including Rameses Revenge completed, along with purchase of Carousel and Seastorm To bring up to date: · Various better animal areas – sealion pool, Diana Monkey enclosure, big cats area · Other presentational improvements and minor features – Adventure House, Toytown truckers, talking litter bins
1997 Action man Critical Mission 1998 Rattlesnake and Creepy Caves Current Status: 1998 Sold by Pearson to Charterhouse Development Capital for £352m. 2000 Development of new themed area - Beanoland 2001 Billy's Whizzer, Bash Street Bus, Berry Bouncers Upgrading on the gorilla's and big cats enclosures 2002 Vampire and Tomb Blaster I would like to Thank CWOA for giving TPAT this information. |
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