Reptile House

Elements area

Taxonomy

Code

Scope note(s)

  • The Reptile House replaced a building of 1882-83, which was itself a replacement of the world's first reptile house built in 1849 (see Bird House). It was built on the site of an Ape House of 1901-02, parts of which were incorporated. It was built 1926-27 by Joan Beauchamp Procter, Curator of Reptiles; Sir Edward Guy Dawber, architect; Prestige and Company, builders; George Alexander, sculptor; original landscaping by John Bull, theatrical scene artist; original heating system devised by the General Electric Company. It now houses several species of reptile, including Jamaican boa, Philippine crocodiles, western diamondback rattlesnakes, Annam leaf turtles, Fiji banded iguanas, northern caiman lizards, puff adders, king cobras, tokay geckos, emerald tree boas and Yemen chameleons. In December 2012, a refurbished amphibian section was opened to the public, displaying amphibians such as Chinese giant salamaders, axolotls, caecillians and various types of poison dart frog.

Source note(s)

  • The Buildings of London Zoo

Display note(s)

    Hierarchical terms

    Reptile House

    Reptile House

      Equivalent terms

      Reptile House

        Associated terms

        Reptile House

          28 Archival description results for Reptile House

          SEC/9/2/7/13 · Item · 12 Nov 1914
          Part of ZSL Secretaries

          Request by the Secretary for donations to raise a sufficient sum to enable presents to be purchased for staff serving in the First World War

          Scherren, Henry
          SEC/7/18/14 · File · 1886
          Part of ZSL Secretaries

          Letters from Henry Scherren to Philip Lutley Sclater regarding corrections to the proof of 'Region' and the banning of members of the public during feeding time in the Reptile House

          SEC/9/2/20/10 · Item · 1927
          Part of ZSL Secretaries

          Paper by Joan Procter listing safety regulations for the Reptile House at the Zoological Society of London, including unpacking, helpers, snake-bites, entering cages, duty and visitors