Herbert Whitley

Herbert Whitley (1886 – September 15, 1955) was an English animal breeder who had a passion for breeding animals and plants, especially those blue in colour. His interests spanned livestock, pigeons, dogs, and exotic animals, many of which he kept in a collection at his house on the Primley Estate in Paignton, Devon.

His breeding expertise won him many prizes, including for cattle, and his blue-coated greyhound, Primley Sceptre, was the first ever "best in show" winner at Crufts in 1928.

The size of his private collection led him to open to the public as Primley Zoological Gardens. He had repeated clashes with the Inland Revenue over his refusal to collect "entertainment tax" on tickets to the site, which he believed to be educational rather than an entertainment, and this twice led him to close the zoo to the public for extended periods. It finally reopened permanently after the Second World War, and became known as Paignton Zoo.

Family background Herbert was the fourth of five children of Edward Whitley, a prominent solicitor, Lord Mayor of Liverpool and Member of Parliament from Liverpool, and his wife Isabella Greenall, heiress in the Greenall Whitley & Co brewery dynasty. Greenall Whitley still survives as De Vere hotels, and dozens of pubs still bear the Whitley Greenall name. The inheritance from this meant that Whitley was independently wealthy and able to indulge his desires.

Following Edward's death, Isabella and four of her children moved to Devon, fearful of tuberculosis. Arriving in 1904, the brothers Herbert and William set about acquiring significant agricultural land holdings. It is thought that at its peak, you could walk from Haytor on Dartmoor to Slapton Ley without leaving Whitley land. – the brothers took joint mastership of the hunt. Herbert sent the hunt's horses to France for the war effort, and set about finding replacements. He used his extensive knowledge of animal breeding to improve the foxhound lines in the hunting pack. having been awarded the Military Cross the previous year for conspicuous gallantry.

Herbert remained joint master of the hunt until 1921, when he stepped back to concentrate on his collection of animals and plants at the Primley Estate in Paignton, although he continued to hunt with the pack. This started with the gift of a pair of canaries from his mother, but his interests extended across livestock, dogs, and a wide range of other species.

Paignton Zoo

The family home at the Primley Estate in Paignton was gradually filled with plants and animals collected and bred by Herbert, eventually expanding across the road from the original house and into land he owned on which he built various buildings to house his collections. Whilst these were initially common species, 1910 saw the arrival of the first monkeys, which started an expansion into an exotic collection. The chimp was trained to go to the village every morning to collect the milk, dressed as a milkmaid.

In the month of opening, the park was visited by an officer of the Inland Revenue, who informed Herbert that he should be charging an 'amusement tax' on ticket sales. Whitley declined to do so, stating that his park was educational rather than entertainment. He was then summonsed to appear at court in Paignton, which happened on 21 March 1924, where the magistrates found in favour of the Inland Revenue.

Whitley immediately closed the park to the public, posting notices on the entrances, explaining the dispute and naming the justices involved in the case. Herbert had some history of clashing with authority, having fought the Paignton Urban District over his refusal to allow surveyors to access his land with a view to placing sewage and sanitation works, which he also lost at court and at appeal.

In 1927, Herbert agreed to reopen the zoo, and pay the contentious entertainment tax.

In 1934, the zoo opened a new "Tropical House", for which visitors had to pay an extra fee, and this once again attracted the attention of the Inland Revenue, who insisted that the tax be additionally paid on that fee. Whitley once again refused, and once again lost at court, closing the zoo for a second time in protest. The relocation included not only animals, but a miniature railway and entire circus including the clowns and acrobats.

When Herbert Whitley died in 1955, the Herbert Whitley Trust, later the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust (WWCT) was set up to continue his work, and this was again renamed in 2019 as the Wild Planet Trust. The trust also owns and operates Newquay Zoo and previously also ran Living Coasts on Torquay seafront. His estates also included the site of several local nature reserves in Devon, including Slapton Ley, now also run by the WWCT.

Dog breeding

Whitley was keen on practical, working dogs, and bred dogs which were unpretentious and smooth coated. He disdained toy and heavy coated dogs as being impractical.

He kept the setters as gun dogs, being a keen country sports enthusiast (and leading to his purchase of Slapton Ley in 1921 as an excellent spot for waterfowl hunting), and he kept a line of whippets to keep the rabbit population down on his estates. His kennel produced four champion Whippets in quick succession – Primley Pattern, Primley Raleigh, Priley Neattie, and Primley Niobe.

He also bred Great Danes amongst the other dogs,

His cows won at the 1908 and 1909 Royal Milking Show trials.

He also kept large birds, including rheas, ostrich and cassowary.

When a fire brigade was established locally, Herbert provided horses from his stud to pull the engines. through to shire horses where he purchased champion shire horse stallion Tatton Dray King to breed from, and also had his own string of shire stallions such as Primley Bellivor which won at the Bath and West Show in 1911 and the Shire Horse Show at Islington in 1913.

Plants Whitley filled the greenhouses at Primley with varieties of plants, and ran a successful propagation business.

The Royal Horticultural Society still lists a number of 'Primley Blue' cultivars in their catalogue, including: Malva sylvestris 'Primley Blue' Salvia rosmarinus 'Primley Blue' Rosmarinus officinalis 'Primley Blue'

Slapton Ley

In 1921, Slapton Ley, a unique freshwater lake separated from the sea by a glacial shingle bank, was at threat of being drained and developed as a holiday resort, and Herbert stepped in to purchase the land. The ley passed to the Herbert Whitley Trust on his death, and is still owned by the successor Wild Planet Trust, under the management of the Field Studies Council

Personal life Whitley was a lifelong bachelor, said to be 'terrified' of women. His closest aide, however, was Gladys Salter who worked for him for over 40 years, including nursing him as his health declined in later life. On his death, she received a considerable sum from his fortune, as well as the use of a large section of Primley House which she lived in until her death in 1978.

He was a private man, and chain smoker. and following its sale by the estate following his death, it later appeared in the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as Lord Scrumptious' car.

Whilst he kept extensive notes of his work in breeding, he requested that these be destroyed upon his death.

At his death, he left the zoo and estate to a trust called the "Herbert Whitley Trust", to be managed by friend and entomologist Alfred Michelmore (son of a renowned local solicitor). Michelmore resigned his job with the Colonial Office to take up the full-time role running the estate.

Whitley is buried in the Whitley family plot at Buckland-in-the-Moor.