Bexley Heritage Trust is responsible for the care and management of Bexley’s extensive museum collection, comprising over 50,000 objects. The collection is diverse ranging from natural history, geology and archaeology to costume, painting and furniture. The collection began in the early 1900s and was shown initially at Danson House. Objects from around the world were donated by local people who acquired rare and exotic things on their travels abroad. The collection has subsequently grown over many years through largely telling the story of Bexley through local people, places and events. The paintings in the collection are mainly local artists’ works ranging from 1766 to the present day. Many illustrate life in the area when it was predominantly agricultural. John F. Tennant is a classic example. He lived in Bexleyheath and one of his paintings ‘Bexleyheath, Kent’ depicts the area in the 1890s with rolling hills, windmills and cattle.