Now the Essex Naturalist is issued annually, with a "modern" design of
cover since 1947, carrying a drawing of the Fyfield Pea from 1949 until 1972,
and afterwards with a pictorial cover, but it has been supplemented since 1970
by a Bulletin issued twice yearly and very welcome. The Bulletin articles are
generally shorter, but no less informative and readable than the more academic
contents of The Essex Naturalist, which has made that Journal the leading and
most authoritative journal of Natural History in the County. The 1973/74 issue
had an entirely new cover design and since then, the format and contents have
been changed to deal with specific subjects, such as "The Deer of Essex",
"Epping Forest" and "Tiptree Heath".
MUSEUMS
A little Museum was established by the Club in Queen Elizabeth's Lodge at
Chingford in March 1893 and opened in November 1895. This Museum has
remained open, apart from a brief period for structural work on the building, to
repair War Damage, even while the Stratford Museum had to remain closed
(see below) and is now a valuable focus of collections relating to the Forest,
representative both of its natural history and archaeology. Mr Bernard Ward
has spent many years in the arrangement and curation of this remarkable Forest
Museum, which, since 1960, has been in the care of the City of London Cor-
poration, with a paid Curator.
As early as March 1880, Miller Christy, member of Council and original
member since January 1880, urged that the old Chelmsford Museum,
established in 1835, should be managed by the Club: not until ten years later in
November 1889, did his proposal take definite shape. However, many dif-
ficulties arose and in January 1891, a scheme was prepared for building an
entirely new museum. With his generous response to an appeal, Mr Passmore
Edwards, the well-known philanthropist, contributed £3000 towards the
building cost of £6000, together with £1000 towards its equipment and display
cases. The site was chosen to be adjacent to the then newly-created Technnical
Institute in the Romford Road, and a formal Agreement between the Club and
the Corporation of West Ham was signed on 25 July 1890.
Mr Passmore Edwards laid the foundation stone on 6 October 1898, and
the completed Museum was formally opened to the public by the Countess of
Warwick on 18 October 1900. On 6 March 1900, the Council decided that the
Headquarters of the Club should be, from that date, the new Stratford Museum
and the temporary store-rooms of the Club's collections at Forest Gate were
given up on 30 April 1900.
Mr William Cole, who had acted as Hon. Secretary and Editor of the
Transactions and later, of the quarterly Essex Naturalist, since the foundation
fo the Club in 1880, was appointed also Curator of the Stratford Museum in
1898, so that the Club's collections, then stored at various sites, could be got
into condition for their new home when it should be ready for them in 1900. In
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