XVI THE HANCOCK MUSEUM AND ITS HISTORY 



horizon of his knowledge of the bird world. He was also a 

 frequent visitor at the house of Charles St. John, the author of 

 that classic book "Wild Sports of the Highlands." When 

 Hewitson died in 1878, he bequeathed to John Hancock his 

 beautiful house and grounds at Oatlands, near Weybridge, on 

 the Thames, and for the remainder of his life Hancock 

 and his sister used to spend the summer there ; the locality, 

 " Oatlands, Surrey," like " Prestwick Carr," appears on the 

 label of many specimens in the museum. 



On the death of his brother Albany, in 1873, it was pro- 

 posed to raise some sort of memorial to his memory, and 

 John Hancock suggested the foundation of a new museum 

 for the overcrowded collections of the Society. The idea for 

 the time being was allowed to drop, but in 1879 it was taken 

 up again with determination, and this time it was carried 

 through. An opportunity occurred for obtaining the ground 

 on which the museum stands to-day, overlooking Barras 

 Bridge. Hancock set his heart on securing this admirable 

 site, and his friend Col. John Joicey, with singular generosity, 

 purchased it and presented it to the Society. There could 

 now be no going back. But the scheme of the new museum 

 as Hancock had conceived it was an ambitious one, and a 

 man of less energy and enthusiasm might well have despaired 

 of seeing it realised. As a matter of fact, the building and 

 interior fittings eventually cost over ;^40,ooo. That it was 

 possible at all to raise such a sum by voluntary subscription 

 was a striking testimony to the esteem in which Hancock was 

 held among his many friends ; the bulk of the money was 

 indeed promised to him privately before any appeal was made 

 to the general body of members of the Society. He had 

 offered to present to the museum his whole collection of birds, 

 if the building could be erected according to the plan he had 

 sketched out ; and the desire to secure a permanent resting- 

 place for such a monumental life-work in the locality where it 

 properly belonged was naturally a great stimulus to subscrip- 

 tions. It may be of interest to name some of the chief 

 subscribers to whom the Natural History Society, and 



