Those who remember that Manchester once had a zoo usually think of Belle Vue Gardens but when John Jennison took over the piece of land between Longsight and Gorton for his zoo and pleasure garden he had competion from two other attractions.  In Collyhurst Robert Tinker had developed his Vauxhall  (Pleasure) Gardens beside the River Irk and in Higher Broughton in May of 1838 the Broughton Zoological Gardens were established beside Bury New Road.

Apparently the Broughton Zoo offered beautifully landscaped gardens and a fine animal collection.  John Jennison had taken out a 99 year lease on the Belle Vue site in 1837 and began to develop the site in February of 1838 at around the same time that the Broughton Zoo was opened for business.  At first the Belle Vue site suffered from access problems because Hyde Road was a toll road and Jennison came close to bancruptcy in the early years.  However, their competitor in the zoo business didn't survive for long and before the railway arrived in Longsight, bringing a regular flow of customers to Belle Vue, the Broughton Zoo had run into financial problems and it closed in 1842.  The animal collection was sold off with some going to the London Zoo and others to the competion at Belle Vue.

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