There is a simple yet sad tale of how The Beaney came to acquire a rook dressed quite curiously in a red coat. The intriguing story is from the early 1900s when a group of boys, looking for a bit of fun, captured a rook and dressed it quite playfully...

This Owl Butterfly on display is commonly known as the Brazilian Little Owl. It is a South American butterfly and is often found in rainforests from Guatemala to northern Argentina. They are known for their eye-like markings, resembling owls’ eyes, which not only deceive predators but draw attention away from...

Displayed in the gallery are two types of Gold – but could you tell the difference between them? One is the type we all know, love and aspire to possess and the other is a deceiving natural imitation often mistaken for the real deal...

The last of Thomas Sidney Cooper’s works, Sheep in the Snow was left unfinished on the easel. If you look closely, the pencil marks under the paint can still be seen. Even at the age of ninety-nine, and with slightly failing eyesight, Cooper captures very realistic sheep in the midst...

Known as Charlie the Bull, this painting is the most popular of the Thomas Sidney Cooper works of art at the Beaney. It was painted between 1874 and 1882 and is one of the largest amongst the collection. The bull in this painting is a prize Shorthorn known as Charlie,...

Described as the legendary “unicorn of the sea”, this narwhal tusk was given to Reverend Holman, who took part in the search for Sir John Franklin’s doomed Artic expedition to find the North-West passage.

Befitting the ethos of the Cabinet, this Chinese Pangolin is indeed an unusual treat for the eyes and inquisitive mind. Now critically endangered, the specimen on display is a rare chance to see an animal which many of us are unlikely to ever see in the wild. The Chinese Pangolin...

Given to Francis Crow (1755-1835), a local clockmaker, inventor and geologist from Faversham, by the Royal Institute in Paris, this Fossil Fish is an outstanding example of its kind and may have been part of the famed Haeberlein Collection looted by Napoleon. This fossil was found in Monte Bolca, Italy,...

Likened to Constable, Sir David Murray RA (1849 – 1933) was a Royal Academician and very prolific Scottish landscape painter. Having studied at the Glasgow School of Art under Robert Greenlees, he moved to London in 1882 where he was an immediate success...

Born in Australia, Harriet Halhed (1850-1933) came to England as an orphan, aged six, to be brought up by her aunt in Harbledown, near Canterbury. She went on to train at the Sydney Cooper School of Art, the Royal College of Art in London and then with artist Louis Deschamps...