Eton College Natural History Museum Eton College Natural History Museum The Eton College Natural History Museum is a museum of natural history that is part of Eton College, a public school at Eton, Berkshire near Windsor in England. The museum contains many stuffed animals, plants, fossils and insects. It is located by the archway into the Queens Quad, beside Lower Chapel at the school. It is the only dedicated natural history museum in the county of Berkshire. The museum opened in 1875 to house the Thackeray Collection of British Birds and other collections. It has been located at its current site since 1895. It houses
Eton, Berkshire public school. The name "Eton" derives from Old English "Ēa-tūn", = "River-Town", i.e. "Town on the River Thames". The land that is now Eton once belonged to the manor of Queen Edith, wife of Edward the Confessor. The land was appropriated by the Normans after 1066. The main road between Windsor and London went through the area and a hamlet sprang up amid pasture meadows to maintain the road and the bridge. In 1440, Henry VI chose Eton as the location for his new college, Eton College. Workmen were moved into Eton to build the college. All of the land