Mention Marwell and people automatically think of the world famous Zoological park that lies just outside of Winchester near to Upham and Twyford.  Here can be found Marwell Hall and its estate that was purchased by John Knowles when he foresaw a zoological park that would be dedicated to the conservation of endangered species and it was in 1969 that he started to make his dream come true

But first he met up with strong local opposition but he persevered and permission was then granted, and in 1972 the park was opened to the public. At the opening the park was the home to Siberian Tigers, Przewalski horses and scimitar-horned onyx and the local headlines showed that a giraffe called Victor had fallen and done the splits and this put the park on the map. Sadly Victor died despite all efforts to get him back o his feet.

NOTE: Today 3rd February 2007 the Southampton Echo carried an article that announced that John Knowles had resigned form the board of Marwell Park and would not be returning.

It was decided in the 1980s that an education service be added and it soon gained a reputation of being one of the best zoological education centres in Britain. It was not long before the preservation of these endangered species shook the world and five pairs of the scimitar-horned onyx were re-introduced to a national park in Tunisia and two Golden Lion tamarinds went to Brazil.

In 1990 the park was extended with new enclosures being built and these became the World of Lemurs, Penguin World, Tropical Bird World, Encounter Village and the Forest Herbivore complex. But all this work did not go unnoticed  and the Queen presented John Knowles with the OBE for services to conservation.

Later the Marwell Zimbabwe Trust was set up for the conservation of the black rhino, duiker and other species at Dambari and more onyx were introduced to Tunisia.

The start of the Twenty-first century saw the Princess Royal at Marwell where she opened a new house. And then tragedy  nearly struck, an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease ravaged the UK and caused the closure of the zoo for a period of six weeks. But when it re-opened a new building programme started to bring the Bat House, Aridlands and Desert Carnivore centres.

Today it is a flourishing business doing a worthwhile job in saving some of the most beautiful and rarest animals in the world and is a favourite destination for tourists from all over the world.