Column designs
The columns around the first floor balcony, above the central staircase, show patterns similar to those found on fossil trees.
A large terracotta roundel showing a rhea, the large ostrich-like bird from South America, can also be seen at the end of this balcony, near the top of the wall. This is similar to a drawing that was made to illustrate Charles Darwin’s account of his famous expedition in HMS Beagle.
Fossil trees
This video clip shows more about the fossils that inspired Alfred Waterhouse for the patterns on his columns.
The rhea
Get an understanding of how Waterhouse stylised his terracotta figures and his sources of information.