About George Mottershead

[@emmajohnson3682]

In 1930, George Mottershead bought at auction for £3500 the beautiful Oakfield Manor with stable block and nine acres of land just outside Chester with the aim of fulfilling his childhood dream of creating a better zoo for animals 'a zoo without bars'. After George was injured, aged just 21, in the battle of the Somme, he spent the time while recovering transforming his father's market garden in Shavington into a successful but small zoo with his growing collection of animals and birds. However, he needed somewhere bigger where he could create the spacious enclosures for the animals he dreamed of. George's father-in-law, a sheep father in the Lakes, helped him secure the mortgage which enabled him to buy Oakfield Manor. However, George had a struggle to get planning permission to turn it into a zoo. This is recounted in his daughter June Mottershead's (Williams') book 'Our Zoo' and the BBC mini drama series.

[@deanmottershead9208]

Keep meaning to come visit some day.

[@ageautistic6957]

Hello fellow Mottershead 😁

[@parrot340]

Where can I find the full interview.

[@lasuje25]

I would like to go to the Chester zoo