BACKGROUND                                                  
The Reverend Gilbert White (1720-1793), author of the world-famous Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne was, with the help of a friend and correspondent Daines Barrington, the founding father of modern natural history recording. He was a pioneer in his appreciation of the interdependence of animals and plants in nature and, depending on his acute powers of observation, his accurate descriptions of the individual species he studied intensely. The Oates Museum commemorates the Oates family and their exploits, in particular Captain Lawrence Oates who accompanied Scott to the South Pole in 1911, and his uncle Frank Oates a remarkable Victorian explorer.

The present Trust combines the arrangements made in 1955 to commemorate White's life and work in his house and the history of the Oates family. The happy quirk of fate creating this link was one of finance. Robert Washington Oates assisted in financing the creation of the Museum in return for the housing and display of his archives and collections.