Quex Park itself is 250 acres (1.0 km2) of parkland and gardens plus a further 1500 acres of farmed land, with Quex House and other buildings situated just south-east from Birchington-on-Sea in Kent, England. It houses the Powell-Cotton Museum, and the Waterloo tower, a secular bell tower.
In 1896, Major Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton, F.Z.S., F.R.G.S., a Major in the Northumberland Fusiliers, founded the Powell-Cotton Museum at Quex Park to display his collection of mammals and artefacts acquired on his expeditions to Africa and Asia. The animals were mounted by the noted taxidermist Rowland Ward. His expeditions were conducted for scientific research, and would sometimes take 18 months.
The Powell-Cotton Museum is an Accredited museum housing three galleries of stuffed animal displays, depicting more than 500 African and Asian animals set against their natural habitats. Further galleries display a collection of African artefacts, European firearms, European and Asian cutting weapons, European and Chinese porcelain, and significant archaeological finds from Thanet and East Kent. The total number of artefacts has not been counted, although the ethnography items alone total approximately 18,000. The Powell-Cotton Museum has won numerous awards including the prestigious “UK’s most inspiring museum in 2014” – Museum and Heritage Awards May 2014.
A number of rooms in Quex House, decorated with oriental and English period furniture, are open to visitors, and guided tours are provided.[15] The house’ gardens and park holds visitor attractions, leisure activities, and retail food and drink outlets. Quex House, the Gun Tower and Waterloo Tower are Grade II listed buildings.