Lyme Regis Museum on TV

Lyme Regis Museum was featured on BBC2‘s Britain’s First Photo Album on Friday March 16, together with the Museum's Education Officer Chris Andrew and volunteer Ken Gollop. The series, presented by the BBC's former political editor John Sergeant, travels around the country in the footsteps of pioneering Victorian photographer Francis Frith. This particular episode included a long segment filmed in Lyme Regis, and was recorded last September. Before the filming, the Museum gave help and advice to BBC researchers on the Francis Frith Collection of photographs that forms the basis of the series. The half-hour programme can be seen on BBC iPlayer until 30 March.

The picture on the left shows Museum fossil expert Chris Andrew and TV presenter John Sergeant holding fossils that were discussed in Britain’s First Photo Album.

Landslides of the Jurassic Coast

Geologist Ramues Gallois entertained an audience of around 80 people on Saturday March 10 at Lyme Regis Guildhall. Dr Gallois, Fellow of the Geological Society, spoke about the ever-moving landslides of the Devon and Dorset coast, why they occur and whether they can be predicted. He presented a fascinating archive of photographs and drawings of past landslides that explained and illustrated the spectacularly active landscape between Lyme Regis and Sidmouth. Together, these form the largest complex of landslides in Europe.

The talk was organised by Lyme Regis Museum as part of National Science and Engineering Week. Chairman of trustees, Stephen Locke, thanked Dr Gallois for his highly interesting and relevant talk. He pointed out that Dr. Gallois had mapped our area as an officer of the British Geological Survey and has taken a particular interest in the landslides. His very special understanding of the local geology combined with his knowledge of the more recent history of the landslides meant he had given us a truly authoritative account of these remarkable and important features of the local landscape.

Appeal launched to save Belmont

Belmont, the former home of Eleanor Coade and John Fowles is at risk. More risk even then when the Landmark Trust gained planning permission to return it to its prime as an 18^th Century maritime villa. The Trust has launched an appeal to raise £2.1m to save the house which is one of Lyme’s most important buildings. John Fowles was, of course, the curator of Lyme Regis Museum back in the 1980s.

Click here to learn more about the Landmark Trust's plans for Belmont and the appeal.

Museum Events in March

THURSDAY 1 MARCH 2.30pm at Woodmead Hall

The Early Years of Photography
A talk by John Marriage. Organised by The Friends of Lyme Regis Museum.

SATURDAY 10 MARCH 6.30 for 7.00 at the Museum

The ever-moving landslides of the Devon-Dorset coast
Drinks and a talk by Dr Ramues Gallois , fellow of the Geological society

TUESDAY 27 MARCH 2.30pm at Woodmead Hall

The History and Activities of the Shelterbox Trust
A talk by David Guy. Jointly with The Lyme Regis Society.

Fossil Walks

• Wednesday 7 March 2012 09.00
• Thursday 8 March 2012 09.45
• Sunday 11 March 2012 11.45
• Monday 12 March 2012 12.30
• Tuesday 13 March 2012 13.00
• Wednesday 21 March 2012 09.15
• Thursday 22 March 2012 9.45
• Friday 23 March 2012 10.15
• Saturday 24 March 2012 10.45
• Sunday 25 March 2012 12.15
• Monday 26 March 2012 12.45

Mary Anning Walks

• Saturday 3 March 2012 14.00
• Saturday 10 March 2012 14.00
• Saturday 17 March 2012 14.00
• Saturday 24 March 2012 14.00
• Saturday 31 March 2012 14.00

Coming soon: Science Week

9–18 March is National Science & Engineering Week.The Museum has just issued the following Press Release:

National Science Week at Lyme Regis Museum includes an evening with Dr Ramues Gallois, Fellow of the Geological Society, who will talk and answer questions on the ever-moving landslides of the Devon-Dorset coast. Large landslides are more common on the Jurassic Coast than in any other part of the UK, and erosion of the rocks between Sidmouth and Lyme Regis has produced the most spectacular active landslides in Europe. Dr Gallois poses the question, ‘Why do they occur and will we ever be able to predict them?’ Drinks from 6.30 for talk at 7pm on Saturday 10 March. No booking necessary, everyone welcome FREE.

Tides along the Lyme Regis coast are among the lowest of the year on Sunday 11th, Monday 12th and Tuesday 13th March. Join Paddy Howe and Chris Andrew on one of Lyme Regis Museum’s fossil hunting walks for the more interesting discoveries usually found at this time of year. Sunday’s walk leaves the museum at 11.45am; Monday’s at 12.30pm; and Tuesday’s at 1pm. Fossil walks take about three hours. Booking advisable: telephone 01297 443370 or email walks@lymeregismuseum.co.uk. See the museum website for times of walks throughout the year at www.lymeregismuseum.co.uk.

At Lyme Regis Museum on Saturday 17 March at 2.30pm Paddy Howe and Chris Andrew urge you to Know Your Fossils. They tell how to find, identify and handle fossils, show the more unusual finds that have come to light as a result of landslides and coastal erosion, and invite you to bring along your own discoveries for identification. No booking necessary.

Family Fun Day: Meet the Ecosaurs

Around 180 children dropped into Lyme Regis Museum on Wednesday February 15 for half-term family fun with dinosaurs. The children made rubbings of fossils, created pictures of their favourite dinosaurs and produced a timeline to take home and remind themselves of Lyme’s oldest residents from the Jurassic Age. The photograph shows Ellie Romanini aged eight from London and Arabella Conway-Hyde aged seven from Bridport.

You can read all about the event and see some more pictures on the Previous Events page of the Museum website.

Lyme Regis Museum appoints a new Director

David Tucker, currently Dorset County Museums Advisor for Dorset County Council, has been appointed Director of Lyme Regis Museum.

Trustees’ Chairman Stephen Locke said: ‘We are pleased that David has accepted our invitation to direct the museum at this challenging time as we pursue our big plans for the museum extension, and that the museum has again attracted a first-class museum professional.’

Kate Hebditch will continue as Acting Curator until David takes up his appointment in May.

Our geologist makes a TV appearance

As seen above, Paddy Howe, Lyme Regis Museum's geologist, made an appearance on the Children's BBC show Jedward's Big Adventure this afternoon. Jedward, a young duo from Dublin, shot to fame a couple of years ago as contestants on The X Factor (sadly they failed to win, due to being memorable and having a personality). In their new TV series, they travel around the country trying to learn enough facts about a place to pass themselves off as tour guides. In today's episode it was the turn of the Jurassic Coast, and Lyme Regis featured very strongly.

The show was filmed last October. Paddy says 'They were lovely lads and asked some really intelligent questions about the fossils. I think they enjoyed it'. If you missed the show, there are still a few days to catch it on BBC iPlayer.

Americana in Lyme Regis Museum

The photograph above shows another of the recently added displays in Lyme Regis Museum. Perhaps not as exciting as the new Jane Austen display, it does however relate to what must have been a turbulent time in the town's history, when US troops were stationed here during the Second World War. This small collection of wartime American money has kindly been donated to the Museum by Lyme Regis resident Ken Gollop.

Also acquired recently by the Museum is a collection of documents that belonged to one-time Mayor of the town, Ivor Curtis. These include the certificate shown below conferring honorary citizenship of Dallas. The text reads: "Be it hereby known that the Honorable Ivor Curtis, Mayor, Lyme Regis England, has on this day been made an Honorary Citizen of Dallas, Texas, and under this charter shall hold and enjoy a place of high esteem in the minds and hearts of the people of this City. October 23, 1985."

Museum Events in February

THURSDAY 2 FEBRUARY 2.30pm at Woodmead Hall
The Great Sir Thomas Ackland, Voyager Extraordinaire
A talk by Dr. Keith Orrell. Organised by The Friends of Lyme Regis Museum.

WEDNESDAY 15 FEBRUARY 11am till 3pm at the Museum
Half-term Family fun Day - Meet the Ecosaurs

SATURDAY 25 FEBRUARY 9.45am to 4.30pm at The Dorset History Centre
Exploring the Collections at the Dorset History Centre: day conference
Click here to download a programme and booking form

TUESDAY 28 FEBRUARY 2.30pm the Regent Cinema
Films with a connection to Lyme Regis
A talk by David Johnson, Manager of the Regent Cinema. Jointly with The Lyme Regis Society.

MARY ANNING WALKS

• Sunday 5 February 2012 14.00
• Saturday 11 February 2012 14.00
• Sunday 12 February 2012 14.00
• Saturday 18 February 2012 14.00
• Sunday 19 February 2012 14.00
• Sunday 26 February 2012 14.00

FOSSIL WALKS

• Tuesday 7 February 2012 09.30
• Thursday 9 February 2012 10.45
• Saturday 11 February 2012 12.15
• Sunday 12 February 2012 12.45
• Monday 13 February 2012 13.15
• Monday 20 February 2012 09.00
• Tuesday 21 February 2012 09.30
• Thursday 23 February 2012 10.45
• Friday 24 February 2012 11.15
• Saturday 25 February 2012 11.45
• Sunday 26 February 2012 12.15
• Monday 27 February 2012 12.30
• Tuesday 28 February 2012 13.00

New Jane Austen display in Lyme Regis

A number of new exhibits have appeared in Lyme Regis Museum over the last few weeks, most importantly the updated Jane Austen display shown above. As mentioned in a previous post, these are items that actually belonged to Jane and her immediate family. They were kindly donated to the Museum by Diana Shervington, a Lyme Regis resident who is a descendant of one of Jane Austen’s brothers.

One of the most interesting items, which you can see on the right of the picture, is a box of counters for the game of Merelles. This game, also sometimes called Nine Men’s Morris, was ancient even in Jane Austen’s day -- it dates back to Roman times!

Lyme traditions - Wassailing and the Mummer's play

On Saturday 14th January two Lyme traditions were played out before an enthusiastic crowd.

Wassailing and Mummer's plays are ancient traditions which until recently were lost to Lyme. Over the last few years, the Museum has organised wassailing to try and revive the tradition, successfully so it seems. This year, Harry Ford, one of the Museum's volunteers has created a modern Mummer's play and, after the wassailing, it was enacted around the streets of Lyme.

The picture to the right shows Sir George, the hero of the play on his gallant steed. The wonderful masks worn by Sir George and the local cast were made by local artists. The Uplyme Morris-men, having performed before and been a part of the wassailing then became part of the play.

Let's hope that both these traditions will continue in modern Lyme.

To see more pictures of the events click here.

Bioluminescent shellfish at a Roman villa

Here's an interesting story that links two different subject-areas covered by the Museum: archaeology and natural history. Starting with natural history, one of the many fascinating creatures to be seen in the rockpools along Lyme Regis beach is the Piddock (left). This shellfish is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, it isn’t satisfied with having its own shell for protection: it also burrows into the rock for additional security! Secondly—and even more bizarrely—it exhibits the phenomenon known as bioluminescence... in other words, it glows in the dark!

Piddock shells were amongst the thousands of edible mollusc shells discovered at the Roman villa at Holcombe, about a mile outside Lyme Regis (this was the site where the Iron Age mirror was found). It’s quite common to find hoards of “used” sea-shells at Roman sites, because eating shellfish was very fashionable in those days. At Holcombe, the piddock shells were found in the vicinity of the bath-house, together with oysters, scallops and edible snails.

I came across the story of the Holcombe piddock shells in an excellent blog post by Ray Girvan, who describes how the Romans (and presumably the Romano-British) used to amuse themselves by eating the glowing shellfish while bathing at night. Pliny the Elder, in Book IX of his seminal encyclopaedia Natural History, makes two oblique references to this practice. The longer of the two, from chapter LXXXVII, is quoted in Ray’s article, while chapter LI also briefly mentions “...piddocks, which shine as if with fire in dark places, even in the mouth of persons eating them.”

We’re doing our best to produce our own photograph of a Piddock glowing in the dark... but hopefully it won’t be inside someone’s mouth!

I’m grateful to Ray Girvan for his original post and for a subsequent e-mail discussion last week, and to Marrina Neophytou (Devon County Council) and Claire Pinder (Dorset County Council) for help with the archaeological records.

William Buckland: an eccentric geologist

William Buckland (1784 - 1856) was one of several nineteenth-century geological pioneers associated with Lyme Regis (the bust shown on the left is on display in Lyme Regis Museum). He was born a few miles away in Axminster, and visited Lyme frequently while studying as an undergraduate at Oxford University. In 1818 he became the first Professor of Geology at Oxford.

Buckland was the son of a parish priest, and in his early work he tried to reconcile his geological discoveries with the Biblical accounts of the Creation and the Flood, although later in his career he became a convert to the glacial theory. By all accounts he was an eccentric character, becoming famous in non-scientific circles as the man who ate everything!

Buckland was a pioneer of the experimental method in geology, and it was in this way that he made one of his most famous discoveries, concerning coprolites. On the Dorset coast, pebbles are occasionally found which when broken open contain a distinctive structure and what appear to be small bones and fish-scales.

Buckland speculated that these objects were fossilized excrement, deposited by large marine creatures such as ichthyosaurs—a theory he proved to his own satisfaction by dissecting a number of fish and injecting their intestines with quick-drying cement! Buckland coined the word "coprolite" to refer to these fecal fossils... and he liked them so much he had a special table made to display his best specimens. The table is now on display in Lyme Regis Museum.

Not all Buckland’s experiments were successful. Another topic he looked at was the phenomenon of “entombed animals”: trapped frogs or toads that are supposedly found alive when solid rock or masonry is broken open. An ideal topic for experimental research! Buckland's experiments were rigorous, using two types of rock and a selection of toads of different ages and sizes, but within two years all the toads were dead. You can read more about Buckland’s toad experiments here.

Wassailing at the Museum

JOIN US FOR MULLED MERRYMAKING, MORRIS MEN AND MUMMERS...

3pm on Saturday 14th January 2012

Lyme Regis Museum’s annual celebration of Old Twelfth Night takes place on Saturday January 14, invoking the West Country custom of wassailing the apple trees to ensure a good crop. It will begin at 3pm with mulled cider or apple juice being served in the Museum. Outside, Uplyme Morris Men will perform their dances, including a new addition to the repertoire dedicated to the apple tree. Children are invited to take part in the ceremony of The Toast, and Adrian Pearson will lead the singing of the wassail song (song sheets provided).

Then comes the premiere of Mummer’s the Word!, Harry Ford’s witty revival of an ancient winter play with the comforting message that out of darkness comes light. With live music, grotesque masks, flaming torches and a real horse the mummers will perform then promenade along Coombe Street to George’s Square, with further scenes en route, finishing at St Michael’s Church with mulled ale.

Everyone is invited to wrap up warm and follow them through the streets of Lyme. Everything is free!

Museum Events in January

Mary Anning Walks:

• Saturday 7 January 14.00
• Saturday 14 January 14.00
• Saturday 21 January 14.00
• Saturday 28 January 14.00

Fossil Walks:

• Sunday 8 January 2012 09.00
• Monday 9 January 2012 09.45
• Tuesday 10 January 2012 10.30
• Thursday 12 January 2012 11.45
• Friday 13 January 2012 12.30
• Sunday 22 January 2012 09.00
• Monday 23 January 2012 09.45
• Tuesday 24 January 2012 10.30
• Thursday 26 January 2012 11.45
• Friday 27 January 2012 12.15
• Saturday 28 January 2012 12.45

For more information, see the What's On page of the Museum website.

An ancient Fire Engine

This fire engine has recently gone back on display at Lyme Regis Museum; it was one of the original exhibits when the Museum first opened in the 1920s. The engine was probably made in the late 18th century, and was in regular use in Lyme for about a century. Fire engines of this type were really portable pumps: they sucked water either directly or from the tank at the back, and the pump pressurized the water so that an even jet of water was produced through the leather hose. The tank itself could be filled either by buckets or a suction pipe.

The old fire engine was finally replaced in 1889, shortly after it had given a poor performance at a bad fire in Broad Street. Newspaper reports after the fire were highly critical of the council’s continued use of such an antiquated engine. The papers claimed that the Bishop of Salisbury, who was staying in the town at the time, had been forced to play the hero and help out with the fire-fighting. Other accounts, however, suggest that the Bishop merely got in the way. One local person remembered a fireman having to drive the Bishop off a ladder, saying “If thee doesn’t come down from this ladder we’ll put the hose on ye!”

Year of Maritime Lyme draws to a close

News release from Carole Halden, Marketing Manager of Lyme Regis Museum:

Lyme Regis Museum’s last Fossil Hunting Walk of 2011 on December 29 brings to a close an eventful year of activities celebrating Lyme Regis’s maritime life, culture and heritage. By year-end, a staggering 367 local events will have been featured in Maritime Lyme’s promotional leaflets and on its website. Combining these with the activities of the Fossil Festival, Lifeboat Week, and Regatta and Carnival Week produces a grand total of some 600 maritime-linked events in Lyme over the last 12 months

The idea for a year-long promotional campaign was initiated by the museum and developed at public meetings in 2009-10. Happily, 2011 was the perfect choice of year, as it coincided with the local RNLI’s 150th and the Lyme Regis Sailing Club’s 90th anniversary celebrations. During the year the museum, with boatbuilder Gail McGarva, ran a major maritime heritage project based around the lerret, an historic Dorset fishing vessel. The year also saw activities promoting the Spirit of Corinth, Lyme’s entry in the current Atlantic Challenge rowing race, as well as a number of special art exhibitions and workshops with maritime themes. One workshop, Photographing Maritime Lyme, run for the first time by local photographers Peter Wiles and Maisie Hill, was so successful that it will be repeated next year

The statistics behind the Maritime Lyme promotion speak for themselves: 20,000 leaflets distributed throughout three counties, over 50 news stories announcing events, and 1,630 visits to our website, representing almost 3,500 web-pages viewed. The website (www.maritimelyme.co.uk) has worked so well as a marketing tool that it will be kept active next year, with information about what happened in 2011, as well as links with local websites that will be listing 2012 Lyme events.

Mary Godwin, Museum Curator said ‘The year of Maritime Lyme has been a great success, but we couldn’t have done it without the hundreds of hours and expertise contributed by Karol Kulik, who put together the events programmes and maintained the website, plus our designers Richard Hartnell and Kathryn Jackson, and Bob Brooker who built the website for us. Thanks to them we have been able to run a great project that has encouraged different parts of the town and different people to work together. We’re also especially grateful to the project’s sponsors who enabled us to market the project so effectively: HIX Oyster and Fish House; Lyme Regis, Charmouth and District Hotel and Restaurant Association; Lyme Bay Holidays; Martin Diplock; the National Trust; and One Bite Communications. And a big thank you is owed to the local newspapers and journalists who reported on the Maritime Lyme events and, of course, to all the groups and individuals who took part in the project.’

The Lerret Littlesea on the Town Beach, Lyme Regis, on January 3 at the start of the year of Maritime Lyme. Built by Gail McGarva Littlesea is a 17-foot wooden boat resembling the 17th century fishing boats native to the Dorset coast. This double-ended clinker vessel was constructed without drawings, taking the lines of the last sea-worthy lerret of 1923 named Vera.

Jane Austen possessions donated to Lyme Regis Museum

Wednesday 14th December,  saw a special Jane Austen evening at the Museum. Volunteer, Diana Shervington has the distinction that both of her grandmothers were grand-daughters of Jane Austens's brother, Edward Knight. Many of the Austen family's possessions have been handed down through the generations to Diana and the event was a celebration of Diana donating several interesting pieces to the Museum where they will be on permanent display.

To read more about and see pictures of the donated items click here.

A Brief History of Lyme Regis Museum

Two of the Museum's volunteers, Amy Blacklock and Cate Bennett have recently compiled a leaflet giving a brief history of the Museum itself. From 1901 when it was built by TED Philpot (Elizabeth Philpot's great nephew) through to its regeneration in the 1990's for which it was awarded the Gulbenkian Prize, the museum has been a place to generate all sorts of emotions and its history is well worth a read. John Fowles, as Curator did much to ensure its survival and the Museum is, arguably, his greatest legacy to Lyme .

The leaflet can be collected from the Museum or you can read/download it here.