The gardens, natural history collections and Georgian manor house of the Powell-Cotton Museum, Quex House and Gardens can now be discovered wherever you are in the world.
This month, the Powell-Cotton Museum has become only the fourth site in Kent to be featured on Bloomberg Connects, a free app which provides curated guides to some 1,000 museums, galleries, gardens and cultural spaces worldwide.
The other Kent sites are Turner, Dover Castle and Richborough Roman Fort.
Sitting within Quex Park in Birchington, the Powell-Cotton Museum presents natural history collections in historic dioramas, world material culture objects from Africa and Asia, as well as local archaeology from the Thanet coastline.
Visitors can explore the Museum’s outdoor spaces, Quex Gardens, including its Victorian Walled Kitchen Garden and woodland walk and the neighbouring 19th century Quex House.
Now, whether you are standing in the Museum, somewhere else in Kent, or many miles away, the digital guide has become the ideal introduction, revealing a host of new details about the Museum and the ever-evolving gardens.
Among the facts to be found are the reason why the Museum’s tiger has a lion’s skull, why the oldest gallery is taller than all the rest and all the ways in which generations of the Powell-Cotton family left their mark on the house, the collections, and gardens.
One highlight is an audio tour of the eight acres of Quex Gardens, led by Head Gardener Sue Harris. Tracing centuries of planting, rising and falling Tudor and Victorian glasshouses, walled kitchen gardens, pleasure grounds, peach and cucumber houses and an ornate fountain pond, Sue will bring you right into the heart of her work – with the occasional accompaniment of a resident peacock, if you listen very carefully.
Originally laid out in the 15th century when the first manor house was built, Quex Gardens were remodelled throughout the nineteenth century, so that the present design contains strong Regency, Victorian and Edwardian influences. The established parkland contains numerous ornamental specimen trees and a sunken fountain garden, as well as three follies. Hidden behind the high, old brick walls of the herbaceous border is an exceptional example of a Walled Kitchen Garden.
In her introduction to the guide, the Powell-Cotton Trust’s CEO, Sarah Corn, says: “We are delighted to be part of Bloomberg Connects, as the guide enables us to showcase our collection, people and stories in ways that we hope will enhance your visit with us, or will make us accessible to you even if you haven’t visited yet, from wherever you are in the world.”
How to get the digital guide:
While visiting, use the on-site Bloomberg Connects QR codes and if you’re away from the Museum, download the free Bloomberg Connects app now to plan your trip.
The Powell-Cotton Museum, Quex House and Gardens, Quex Park, Birchington,
Opening hours: 11am-4pm on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays until Friday 31st October 2025, reopening for the new season in February 2026.
Tickets: Adult: £7.50; Concession: £7.00; Child (4-16 yrs): £6.50, Infant (0-3 yrs): Free; Powell-Cotton Museum Members: Free.
