A rare glimpse inside Britain’s secret vault of whale skeletons

The collection is the most complete collection of its kind in the world, containing specimens of 90% of the world’s 90 cetacean species Photograph: Alicia Canter/The Guardian

Behind a 10-foot tall door, in a secret location, lies a treasure trove of bones. Some of the biggest bones are laid out on storage units made of scaffolding, others are stacked against each other on racks – rows and rows of specimens. The smallest are tucked into drawers of faded-yellow metal cabinets. A selection of skulls lies on a low table; crudely stuffed animals hang from the painted breezeblock walls. Everything is carefully labelled.

This vast room houses the Natural History Museum’s cetacean collection – a globally unique hoard of 6,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises. The artefacts are so enormous and irreplaceable, they’re housed at a secret location away from the main museum building.