Exeter Change
Known as Exeter Change or Exeter Exchange, it was on the north side of London's Strand and housed an indoor menagerie . Wild animals, including the elephant Chunee, were caged on the upper floors for over 50 years, from 1773 until the house was destroyed in 1829 .
history
Exeter Exchange was built in 1676 on the site of the former Cecil House and served as the residence of the Earls of Exeter in London. On the ground floor there were business premises that were used by offices. The upper floors were used as storage space.
From 1773 a menagerie was set up on the upper floors , which competed with the Royal Menagerie in the Tower of London . Lions, tigers, monkeys and other exotic species were exhibited in small, narrow iron cages. The roar of the big cats is said to have even reached the street and frightened horses there. Thomas Clark was the founder of the menagerie, which changed hands frequently in the following years. Exeter Change, at times also used as winter circus quarters, was an extremely popular tourist attraction and was visited by famous people.
After Polito, the owner of the Exeter Change menagerie, died, Edward Cross , a former employee, took over the house. Cross became famous for the elephant Chunee , who had to eke out his dreary existence in a cage on the first floor. After the animal accidentally killed a guard, underwent a trial, and an untreated inflammation caused its bad mood, it was shot by soldiers in March 1826. The execution lasted a long time; the elephant was hit several times but not fatally wounded. Only a stab with a bayonet in the flank and a head shot ended his suffering. The animal then decayed before it was dismembered for removal.
In 1829, just a few years later, Exeter Change was destroyed in the course of city expansion. Some of the animals were moved to the new zoo in Regent's Park , others ended up in Edward Cross' new venture, the Surrey Zoological Gardens.