Mary Chipperfield was a 1970s circus

Circus

A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...

 entertainer who specialised in a chimpanzee

Chimpanzee

Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...

 act. She was also known as an animal trainer, providing numerous animals for various BBC productions and the 1967 movie Dr. Doolittle.

The Chipperfield heritage

She was the daughter of Rose Chipperfield (née Purchase; 1912–2006). The Purchase family had a long history of travelling menageries, and Rose had a lion act herself. Two years after meeting her husband Jimmy Chipperfield the two shows amalgamated (around 1930).

After the end of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 the circus owners travelled to Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

 and bought nine elephants which then led on to further acquisitions and the growth of the circus.

Mary Chipperfield and her husband Richard Cawley were actively involved in the creation of the Longleat Safari Park. Mary wrote about its creation and first year of public operation in Lions on the Lawn (1971).

Christmas shows in the 1970s

Just as the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 showed Billy Smart's Circus

Billy Smart, Jr

Billy Smart, Jr was widely known in Britain as a circus performer and impresario.Smart, whose real name was Stanley, was the tenth child and third son of Billy Smart, Sr. His father was a showman and fairground proprietor, who bought a circus in 1946. The first appearance of the Billy Smart circus...

 shows on Christmas Day for several years during the 1970s, ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 would show Chipperfield's Circus

Chipperfield's Circus

Chipperfield's Circus was the name of a famous British family circus. The show toured Europe and the Far East. The dynasty goes back more than 300 years, making it one of the older family circus dynasties.-History:...

 in competition.

Recent controversies

Mary Chipperfield has become a controversial figure in more recent times regarding her treatment of animals in her circus. The most infamous case being the treatment of the chimpanzee 'Trudy' who was seized following criminal proceedings and taken to the 'Monkey World

Monkey World

Monkey World is a ape and monkey sanctuary and rescue centre near Wool, Dorset, England...

' sanctuary in April 1998. Mary Chipperfield was found guilty of twelve counts of cruelty to animal and fined £7,500.