Booth Museum Of Natural History And Attached Walls And Railings

The Booth Museum of Natural History, together with its attached walls and railings, was built in 1874 for Thomas Booth. It is constructed of brown brick laid in English bond, with stone dressings incorporating red, yellow, and black brick, some of which is gauged, as well as blue glazed brick. The roof is slate.

The museum is a long, shed-like building, with a plain, unwindowed wall to its right return, and a shorter, lower extension to the north-east. The street façade is designed in an Italian Romanesque style, featuring a flat-roofed porch extending across the entire front, with the rest of the gabled front set back. Steps lead to two identical round-arched entrances, flanked by voussoirs of red, yellow, and black brick under a round-arched hoodmould. The hoodmould’s voussoirs terminate in a springing band of red, black, and blue-glazed brick. Double doors feature decorative wrought-iron hinges. This pattern of round arches, hoodmoulds, and springing bands continues above other openings, including a niche between the doors and windows either side. An elaborate entablature of gauged brick has dentil work, a frieze of upright bricks, and a moulded brick cornice. The gable is decorated with banding and diaper work in red brick, and a single course of blue glazed brick that forms part of a springing band to an arcade of five blank round arches. Further detailing includes a Lombard frieze and a moulded brick cornice to the gable. A lantern sits atop the ridge of the roof.

The interior is a simple long shed with a late 20th-century roof. The historical significance lies in the display cases, presented by Booth, which line the walls and the building’s centre, showcasing British birds in their natural habitat.

Splayed walls are present either side of the building, terminating in coped red brick piers. Cast-iron railings enclose the steps.

The museum was built by Thomas Booth to house his collection of stuffed British birds. It was presented to Brighton Borough Council in 1890 by his widow, and redesignated as a museum of natural history in 1973.