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About the Museum Come and have a look around the Museum

Our Garden Spend some time in our garden

Priory Park Spend a few minutes in the park with our members

Rummaging in the archives Read a tale from our library

Reigate at war The Jock Mason Archive

Richard Kearton Nature photography pioneer

Plague, murder and taxidermy A strange tale from our collections

Contributors

Paul Collins
Julia Monro
John Austin
Sean Hawkins
Andy Sandford
Helen Saaler

Come on in...

 

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Take a look around the Museum and our collections

The Holmesdale Natural History Club was founded in 1857 and since 1910 we have been based at our Museum in Croydon Road, Reigate. Come on in and take a virtual tour of our Museum and Collections.

Come and have a look around the Museum

See our 2022 Heritage Open Days video

 

    

Tales from a walled garden

Our garden was once part of the grounds of Great Doods and there are still some very old apple trees in it. We try to keep it in a cottage garden style to fit with the design and history of the buildings. The garden isn't a museum though, we have regular delicious harvests of strawberries, raspberries, red and black currants, walnuts and a eclectic crop of vegetables including multi-coloured beans, peas, chard, courgettes, pumpkins and marrows. It also provides a safe habitat for birds, insects and other wildlife.

Take a turn round the garden

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A personal view of wartime Reigate

Jock Mason was a policeman, fire fighter and engineer who ran the ARP Ambulance Service in Reigate during the Second World War. This archive of his papers, photos and memoirs gives you a personal view of what wartime life was like in Reigate. His memoir of the Borough of Reigate Air Raid Precautions Civil Defence Ambulance Service starts on page 22.

Explore Jock's archive

 

    

Richard Kearton: A Pioneer of Natural History Photography

Richard Kearton, along with his brother Cherry was one of the first people to take pictures of nature in the field, writing the rules and inventing the techniques to get close to birds in their nests. Some of the methods were certainly unusual and imaginative. Richard Kearton also lectured at the Club and we have records of these lectures in our archives.

Find out more about Richard Kearton and his work

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Plague, murder and taxidermy

The story behind one of the exhibits in the Holmesdale Natural History Museum weaves together the lives of a tragic Rothschild, a murdered explorer, the flea that spread the plague and a mystery of provenance.

Unravel the mystery of the birds from Sudan

 

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To find out more about the Holmesdale Natural History Club and our collections, or if you are interested in joining, please email us at Holmesdale Natural History Club