Natural History Museum at Tring
Established | 1889 |
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Location | Tring, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom |
Coordinates | 51°47′27″N 0°39′41″W / 51.790833°N 0.661368°W |
Type | Mounted zoological specimens |
Collection size | At least 4000 objects |
Visitors | 151,787 (2019)[1] |
Director | Michael Dixon |
Website | www |
The Natural History Museum at Tring was the private museum of Lionel Walter, 2nd Baron Rothschild; today it is under the control of the Natural History Museum, London. It houses one of the finest collections of stuffed mammals, birds, reptiles and insects in the United Kingdom. It was known as the Walter Rothschild Zoological Museum until April 2007.[2] The museum is located on Akeman Street, in Tring, Hertfordshire.
History
The Natural History Museum at Tring was once the private museum of
Description
The extensive collection, housed in several rooms, includes extinct animals and birds such as the
The site is also home to the ornithological research collections (Bird Group, Department of Zoology) and the ornithological library (Department of Library and Information Services) of The Natural History Museum, but these are not open to the public. There are small special themed exhibitions throughout the year showcasing specimens not normally on display, and activities for youngsters.[2]
Thefts from museum
Bird skins
On 24 June 2009, a theft occurred from the museum involving the removal of 299 brightly coloured stuffed birds, mostly male
Rhinoceros horns
In the early hours of 27 August 2011, a thief broke in through the museum's front doors and removed the horns from two rhinoceros exhibits, one an Indian rhino and the other a white rhino, using what was believed to be a large hammer. However, in the light of recent thefts from other museums, three months before the break-in curators had replaced the real rhino horns, valued at £240,000, with resin replicas that had no commercial value.[9] On 17 January 2012, Darren Bennett from Leicester was charged with the theft of two replica rhinoceros horns; real rhino horn can sell for £60,000 per kg in the Far East for its supposed medicinal qualities.[10]
Gallery
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Russian and Mexican lapdogs (immature)
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Zebra-horse hybrid foal
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Great auk
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Tasmanian tiger or thylacine
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Side view of the museum (from Park Street)
Bibliography
- More information about the collecting of animals can be found in the book Dear Lord Rothschild: Birds, Butterflies and History ISBN 0-86689-019-X
- More information about the Edwin Rist thefts can be found in the book The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk Wallace Johnson, and episode 654 of This American Life.[11]
References
- ^ "ALVA - Association of Leading Visitor Attractions". www.alva.org.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
- ^ a b c d About the Natural History Museum at Tring, Accessed 16-08-2016
- ^ Zebra-drawn carriage driven by Lord Lionel Walter Rothschild, Accessed 12-11-2010
- ^ Pimm, Stuart (17 April 2018). When feathers flew at a natural-history archive Nature
- ^ Arrest over theft of 299 rare bird skins in Tring "BBC News online", Accessed 12-11-2010
- ^ Flute player admits theft of 299 rare bird skins BBC News online. Accessed 25-11-2011
- ^ "Musician sentenced for rare bird skins theft". BBC News. 8 April 2011.
- ^ "Natural History Museum thief ordered to pay thousands". BBC News. 30 July 2011.
- ^ "Rhino horn raiders steal replicas from Tring museum". BBC News. 27 August 2011.
- ^ Tring museum replica rhino horn theft: Man charged BBC News, 17 January 2012
- ^ This American Life thisamericanlife.org episode 654.