The museum has collected natural history objects since 1832. In the early days of the museum, the Great Hall was filled with animals, including an elephant which featured in the Great Exhibition of 1851. Today, our focus has turned away from collecting specimens to conservation, and understanding plants and animals in their natural habitats.
The natural history collection features a large number of preserved animals, such as mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, fish, invertebrates and molluscs. These include a small collection of mainly British mammals, featuring our famous Wallace the Lion; historic specimens of British and European birds and birds’ eggs; and insects from Britain, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
Our collection of preserved plants is of considerable regional importance. The herbarium holds over 14,000 specimens of dried ferns, mosses, fungi, lichen, algae and flowering plants, many of which were collected in the nineteenth century by botanists around Essex such as George Stacey Gibson and Joshua Clarke.
Objects from our natural history collection are on display in the Natural History gallery. Many more objects are kept in storage and can be viewed by appointment.
Here are digital copies of the gallery text labels:
American Bittern
American Bittern. There have only been 58 confirmed sightings of this bird, which rarely visits Britain. (Current Location: on display in the Victorian Museum Work Room)
Fox (SAFWM – 1984.93)
An adult female fox. It is a modern specimen than some of our collection, dating to the 1980s. (Current Location: storage)
Apostlebird (SAFWM – 1902.8)
Mounted specimen of an Apostlebird, captured in Australia but imported into Britain in the nineteenth century. (Current Location: storage)
Butterflies (SAFWM – 2002.110.11)
A drawer of butterflies from a cabinet of British butterfly specimens (Current location: storage)
Squirrel Skeleton (SAFWM – 215240)
The skeleton of a grey squirrel. (Current Location: on display in the discovery centre)
Hummingbirds Dome (SAFWM – 1891.176)
A collection of hummingbirds from South America, mounted under a glass dome, collected in the nineteenth century. (Current Location: storage)
Wood Anemone (SAFWM – 110079.8)
Two specimens of wood anemone, from the collection of nineteenth-century botanist G.S. Gibson. (Current Location: storage)
Duck-Billed Platypus (SAFWM – 165513)
A male duck-billed platypus from Australia. This specimen dates to the nineteenth century. (Current Location: on display in the Victorian Museum Work Room)
Auk Egg (SAFWM – 163386)
A cast of an egg of the great auk, made in 1856. (Current Location: storage)
European Grey Wolf (SAFWM – 165510)
Specimen of a European Grey Wolf, dating to the nineteenth century. (Current Location: storage)
Peregrine Falcon (SAFWM – 1836.23)
A nineteenth century mounted specimen of a Peregrine Falcon, collected at Ashdon, Essex in 1835. (Current Location: storage)
Wax Mushrooms (SAFWM – 2003.16.29)
A wax model of the Granulated Boletus fungus, produced by George Nathan Maynard. (Current Location: storage)
Red-Breasted Toucan (SAFWM – 160155)
This specimen of a red-breasted Toucan dates to the nineteenth century. (Current Location: storage)
Bird Dome (SAFWM – 1891.162)
Collection of birds from South America, mounted under a glass dome, collected in the nineteenth century. (Current Location: storage)
Shell (SAFWM – 215278)
A shell of the chambered or pearly nautilus, dating to the nineteenth century. (Current Location: on display in the Victorian Museum Work Room)
Scorpion (SAFWM – LAB4332)
Scorpion from the nineteenth century invertebrate collection at Saffron Walden Museum. (Current Location: storage)
Wallace the Lion (SAFWM – 1838.163)
Wallace the Lion is thought to be the first lion bred into captivity in Britain, and when he died in 1838 he was sent by Stagecoach to Saffron Walden Museum. (Current Location: on display, 1st floor landing)
