Horniman Museum

The Horniman Museum and gardens is in  Forest Hill, South London,  it has been open since Victorian times and  houses an extraordinary collection of anthropology and natural history.

The museum was the brainchild of Frederick John Horniman, a Victorian tea trader and philanthropist, who wanted to ‘bring the world to Forest Hill’ to educate and enrich the lives of the local community. He began collecting objects from around the World from such places as Egypt, Sri Lanka, China, and Japan and he soon became well known as a collector.

My  interest for this visit was the museum’s extensive collection of taxidermy birds commonly found in city gardens parks, and other urban spaces as well as more exotic species from around the world including Paradise Birds, Waders and Birds of Prey.  

The dim interior and eerily illuminated cabinets of taxidermy specimens transports you back  to Victorian times where you can almost hear the calls of the birds. 

The specimens include not only birds but all manner of creatures including a huge walrus, as well as tiny shells and molluscs.

This is a brown pelican from the West Indies and a greater crested grebe, with the head of a northern diver (see below). It was interesting to see the simulated swimming action and to read about how they were viewed in victorian times.  I am hoping to photograph the pelicans in St James's park later this week.

I found it really interesting to see these birds close up and to view them in greater detail, something that is not possible in the wild. The feathers of the darter are really beautiful, if a little tired and worn.

The Scarlet Ibis (Eudocimus ruber), is a bird I have not seen before,  it is a South American species, the red colour of their feathers comes from the red pigments of the fish that they feed on. The Bittern (Botaurus stellaris)is from the British Isles.

With some of the specimens it is possible to see the skeletal system within the skin, as with the rabbit below, this is particularly interesting to see.

The Horniman museum allows the viewer to get really close to the specimens and in some instances to touch them. I liked the smaller more intimate space of the building, which at the moment is being updated as are some of the specimens.
The museum is well worth a visit and is somewhere that you can return to time and again without tiring.