The Booth Museum is stuffed with free natural history

Why visit the Booth Museum?

If you come to Brighton for a long weekend break and you are not solely here to party, why not absorb yourself in the Booth Museum of National History? And it is free.

If you want to see over 300 stuffed birds from all over Britain, you would find them in the setting of their natural habitat.

The Booth Museum was opened in 1874 by naturalist and collector Edward Thomas Booth. He was mainly interested in birds and his ambition was to collect examples of every species found in Britain.

You could also find displays of extinct species such as the dodo and thylacine. To add to your senses, you can also find over 650 types of butterfly.

Who is Booth?

Edward Thomas Booth was a naturalist and keen on all aspects of natural history. He was born in 1840 to a wealthy family. He spent his early life in education in Brighton and later at Trinity College, Cambridge. He was asked to leave Trinity College because he spent more time on the fens shooting and observing birds instead of studying in academia.

When he came back to Brighton in 1865, he began to create the collection you see in the museum. His detailed notes and sketches show his passion for the subject. Booth is one the finest Victorian National History bird taxidermy collector in the UK.

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