Quex Park

Quex House as an Auxiliary Military Hospital during World War I
Waterloo Tower

Quex Park is 250 acres (1.0 km2) of parkland and gardens, along with Quex House and other buildings, located in Birchington-on-Sea in England. It is home to the Powell-Cotton Museum and to the Waterloo tower, an unusual secular bell tower.

History

There has been a house on the Quex site since the early 1400s, and gained its Quex name from the ownership of the rich wool merchant Quekes family in the 1500s. The house was purchased by John Powell-Cotton in 1777, and his nephew, also John, demolished the existing mansion, and replaced it with a regency home.[1] The house is still owned by the Powell-Cotton family.

In the 19th century, the family amalgamated two farms to form Quex Park, and began a programme of tree planting and landscaping to create the current park land.[2]

During World War I, Quex House became an Auxiliary Military Hospital run by the Birchington Voluntary Aid Detachment.[3] In 1923, the Memorial Ground was donated to the village by Mr H. A. Erlebach for sport and recreational use. Mr Erlebach owned the village's now defunct Woodfood House School and purchased land from the Quex House estate for the school. He gave the southern part of the land to the people of Birchington and dedicated it in memory of his three sons who had been killed in World War I. The land is now owned by Thanet District Council.[4]

Powell-Cotton Museum

Main article: Powell-Cotton Museum

In 1896, Major Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton, F.Z.S., F.R.G.S.,[5] a Major in the Northumberland Fusiliers,[6] founded the Powell-Cotton Museum at Quex Park to display his collection of mammals and artefacts acquired on his expeditions to Africa and Asia.[7] The animals were mounted by the noted taxidermist Rowland Ward.[8] His expeditions were conducted for scientific research, and would sometimes take 18 months.[9]

The Powell-Cotton Museum houses three galleries of stuffed animal displays, depicting more than 500 African and Asian animals against their natural habitats.[10] Further galleries display a vast collection of African artefacts, European firearms, European and Asian cutting weapons, European and Chinese porcelain, and important archaeological finds from Thanet and East Kent.[11] The total amount of artefacts have not been counted, though the ethnography items alone total approximately 18,000.[12]

Several rooms in Quex House, decorated with oriental and English period furniture, are open to visitors, and guided tours are provided.[13]

Current uses

In addition to the museum, Quex Park also hosts a variety of events, including music concerts and festivals, alongside weddings and corporate entertainment. The estate also has its own food range, Quex Foods.

Listed buildings

The house,[14] Gun Tower[15] and Waterloo Tower,[16] along with other features are individually Grade II listed buildings.

References

  1. ↑ "Quex House". Quex Museum. 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  2. ↑ "Gardens". Quex Museum.
  3. ↑ "Quex Park Auxiliary Military Hospital". VLib.us. Retrieved 2007-05-29.
  4. ↑ "Erlebach Legacy Could Become Focus For Village Health and Recreation" (PDF). TheBirchingtonRoundabout.co.uk. February 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 12, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-29.
  5. ↑ "POWELL-Cotton, Percy Horace Gordon". Who's Who, 59: p. 1422. 1907.
  6. ↑ "Biography information for Cotton at the Southern Sudan Project". southernsudan.prm.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  7. ↑ "Quex Museum - Museum". quexmuseum.org. 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  8. ↑ "Animals". QuexMuseum.org. Retrieved 2007-05-28.
  9. ↑ "Papers Past — Otago Witness — 28 December 1904 — Page 32". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 28 December 1904. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  10. ↑ "BBC Inside Out - Quex House". bbc.co.uk. 2005. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  11. ↑ "Quex Museum - Ceramics Gallery". quexmuseum.org. 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  12. ↑ Crowhurst, Richard (2006). "Quex House and the Powell-Cotton Museum". timetravel-britain.com. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  13. ↑ "Quex Museum". QuexMuseum.org. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-05-28.
  14. ↑ Historic England. "Quex House  (Grade II) (1094671)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  15. ↑ Historic England. "Gun Tower  (Grade II) (1094673)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  16. ↑ Historic England. "Waterloo Tower  (Grade II) (1094674)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 November 2014.

External links

Coordinates: 51°22′01″N 1°19′16″E / 51.367°N 1.321°E