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

          Chatterton, Edgar
          SEC/7/3/9 · Item · 1902
          Part of ZSL Secretaries

          Letter from Edgar Chatterton to Philip Lutley Sclater regarding no longer being able to view the animals behind the cages following reports in the newspapers about the way in which the reptiles were being fed in the reptile house

          Colam, John
          SEC/7/3/16 · File · 1881
          Part of ZSL Secretaries

          Letter from John Colam of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, to Philip Lutley Sclater regarding the serpent feeding in the reptile house being a healthy amusement for children and young persons

          d'Auvergne, Edmund B
          SEC/7/4/3 · Item · 1902
          Part of ZSL Secretaries

          Letter from Edmund B d'Auvergne to Philip Lutley Sclater regarding the feeding of live animals to snakes in the Reptile House

          Kellner, S
          SUP/6/1/2/34 · Item · 1950
          Part of Superintendents

          Letter regarding specimens from Australia that were sent to the Reptile House

          Malcolm Campbell Ltd
          SUP/5/1/2/147 · File · 1946
          Part of Superintendents

          Correspondence between Malcolm Campbell Ltd and Geoffrey Marr Vevers regarding labels for the Reptile House and Children's Zoo