Description

BRIGHTON

TQ3005NW DYKE ROAD
577-1/19/207 (North East side)
Booth Museum of Natural History and
attached walls and railings

II

Museum. 1874. For Thomas Booth. Brown brick set in English
bond with dressings of stone, red, yellow and black brick,
some of it gauged, and blue glazed brick, roof of slate.
PLAN/EXTERIOR: the museum is a long shed with a plain,
unwindowed wall to the right-hand return, and a short, lower
extension at its north-eastern end. The street front is
treated in an Italian Romanesque style, with a flat-roofed
porch across the whole front and the rest of the gabled front
set back. Steps up to 2 identical round-arched entrances with
voussoirs of red, yellow and black brick under a round-arched
hoodmould, the voussoirs dying into a springing band of red,
black and blue-glazed brick; double doors with decorative
wrought-iron hinges. The pattern of round arches with
voussoirs, hoodmould and springing band continues over the
other openings: a niche between the doors and one either side
of them, and a window beyond that; elaborate entablature of
gauged brick with dentil work, frieze of upright bricks and
moulded brick cornice. The gable is decorated with banding and
diaper work in red brick, and one course of blue glazed brick
which forms part of a springing band to an arcade of 5 blank
round arches; Lombard frieze and moulded brick cornice to
gable. Lantern to ridge of roof.
INTERIOR: the interior is simply a long shed with a late C20
roof; the historical interest of the interior lies in the
cases presented by Booth, which line the walls and the centre
of the building, and show British birds in their natural
habitat.
Splayed walls either side of the building ending in coped red
brick piers; cast-iron railings to steps.
HISTORICAL NOTE: built by Thomas Booth to house his collection
of stuffed British birds; presented to Brighton Borough
Council in 1890 by his widow; and redesignated as a museum of
natural history in 1973.
(Carder T: The Encyclopaedia of Brighton: Lewes: 1990-).

Listing NGR: TQ3017505817

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26660650

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  London 1: The City of London: City of London v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Huddersfield in 50 Buildings
• 
  For the Record
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects, Supplement 2014
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)