When planning my day trip to Derby, the main reason for my visit was to see the tomb of Bess of Hardwick at Derby Cathedral, in preparation for a talk that I have been asked to give at St. Peter’s church in Edensor.
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| A geological cross-section in Derbyshire by White Watson |
Part of my story involves the geologist/mason White Watson, who was particularly well known for making geological cross-sections of Derbyshire, using the rocks themselves. The only place that I have seen them is at Derby Museum and Art Gallery, very many years ago, and so I was curious to know if they were still on display.
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| A geological cross-section by White Watson |
On my arrival at the museum, I explained the reason for my visit and was informed that the cross-sections had deteriorated over the years and were now kept in storage; however, although I was not able to take any photos as I had hoped, the museum kindly offered to send a few photos that I could use in my talk and related publicity material.
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| A general view of the Natural History Gallery |
I have no recollection of my previous visit to the museum, so I decided to have a quick look at the various exhibitions. Having worked in museums and visited many others to look at their geological collections, I have always preferred to see traditional display cabinets rather than modern interactive methods of education that are now frequently used.
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| An ichthyosaur |
Entering the Natural History Gallery, I was therefore very pleased to see that it was just full of simple, well lit glass cabinets. Although I only had a quick wander round, to take some general photographs, I thought that there was a decent display of minerals and fossils, but I can’t recall seeing any rocks.
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| Minerals |
The collections of fossils are laid out in cabinets on the walls, and are generally classified by their phyla, but none of the individual specimens are labelled. Their details are presumably available in a printed form, somewhere in the gallery, but I have to say that I didn’t see them.
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| Cephalopods |
At one end of the gallery, there is also an area with a couple of comfortable chairs and tables where visitors can browse through various reference books. I particularly liked the old fashioned collection of specimens, which are kept in sealed jars of formaldehyde.
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| A seating area in the Natural History Gallery |
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