Powell-Cotton Museum

Museum

Explorer Tom

The Powell-Cotton Museum at Quex Park holds striking animal displays and objects gathered across the world, and Tom says the glass cases are trying to tell several stories at once. For once, he may have a point. This is a place to look carefully at both what is shown and how it came here. Percy Powell-Cotton began collecting after travels in the late nineteenth century and established galleries beside the family home at Quex. Large habitat displays preserve natural history specimens in detailed settings, while collections from Africa and Asia record encounters, choices and the colonial world in which they were made. The trust now works with communities connected to those objects to add voices missing from older labels. Quex House and its gardens add the family's setting. Tom claims the cases are arguing; questions about animals, people and ownership deserve a real conversation. Read the newer interpretation, not only the craftsmanship. The museum is at Quex Park in Birchington and opens on selected seasonal days. Check the current calendar and booking information before travelling. A standard ticket covers the museum, gardens and Quex House, but access to the house is through guided tours that may vary by day. The operator provides parking and access details for the site. Some collections contain preserved animals and displays from colonial expeditions, which visitors may find difficult; the museum explains their history and continuing study. Treat the house and galleries as separate parts of one visit, and follow the day's tour arrangements. Tom has stopped pretending the cases can speak for themselves. Go in, read widely and let the people behind the objects join the story.