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The John Lubbock Collection at Bromley Historic Collections



March 2020 seems like a lifetime ago. In a pre-Covid age, a group of new volunteers met at Bromley Central Library to explore how they could help Bromley Historic Collections map the John Lubbock Collection on The Earth Museum.



Lubbock was a C19th banker and politician who also dabbled in science and was a friend of Charles Darwin. He played a role in the evolution debates of the 1860s and was particularly interested in human antiquity and evolution. The collection of archaeological and ethnographic artefacts from across the world he made during his lifetime eventually found its way into the British Museum and Bromley Historic Collections after his death.


High Elms Country Park, site of John Lubbock’s estate and next door to Charles Darwin at Down House. Creative Commons

A selection of objects are on display in the Bromley Central Library for people in Bromley to see. Our local volunteers want also to share this collection more widely, including with communities who live and study in the places from which objects originally came.

So, despite pandemic lockdowns and other inevitable disruption, the Bromley Historic Collections team of volunteers has been quietly working away. We are delighted to share their new map for you to discover and explore. We will continue to add pins, stories and other content over the coming months, and start to develop accompanying learning resources for schools. If you are interested in helping us, please get in touch.



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