Not Mary Anning's fossil-hunting hammer!

The  picture on the left shows an object in Lyme Regis Museum that for many years was believed to be a geological hammer made especially for Lyme’s most famous fossilist, Mary Anning (1796-1847), by her father Richard. However, it was discovered last year that it is nothing of the sort! It is the pick-shaped handle head and broken part of the shaft of an 1882-issue British Army entrenching tool!

The entrenching tool is featured in a new series on the History of Lyme Regis in Museum Objects on the Museum website, produced by the Museum's research team. If you follow the link, you will find a number of in-depth PDF documents you can download, including one by Richard Bull explaining in detail how "Mary Anning's Hammer" was found to be something else entirely!

Museum events in February

Talks

Thursday 7th February 2.30pm at Woodmead Hall
East Devon Hill Forts - 600 Years of History
A talk by Tom Cadbury, Curator of Antiquities at Exeter's Royal Albert Memorial Museum, organised by The Friends of Lyme Regis Museum.

Tuesday 26th February 2.30pm at Woodmead Hall
Chard – The first powered flight and other history
A talk by a representative from Chard Museum, organised jointly with The Lyme Regis Society.

Exhibition

Both Object and Observer: An exhibition by Maisie Hall showing her work in progress towards the new Re:Collection project. In the Rotunda Gallery of Lyme Regis Museum until 27 March.

Mary Anning Walks

Saturday 2nd February 1.30pm
Saturday 9th February 1.30pm
Saturday 16th February 1.30pm
Saturday 23rd February 1.30pm

Fossil walks

Friday 1st February 12.30pm
Saturday 2nd February 1.15pm
Saturday 9th February 9am
Sunday 10th February 9.30am
Wednesday 13th February 11.45am
Thursday 14th February 12.15pm
Friday 15th February 12.45pm
Saturday 16th February 1pm
Sunday 24th February 9am
Monday 25th February 9.15am
Tuesday 26th February 10am
Wednesday 27th February 10.30am
Thursday 28th February 11.15am

For more information, contact walks@lymeregismuseum.co.uk

The Common Seal of Lyme Regis

The picture on the left shows a reversed photograph of the Borough of Lyme Regis seal matrix, which is on display in the Museum (on loan from Lyme Regis Town Council). The design of the seal is believed to date from the 13th century, when King Edward I granted the town its Royal Charter – although this particular matrix is likely to be of more recent manufacture.

The seal shows a mediaeval-style ship bearing the cross of Saint George on its masthead, together with a scene of the Crucifixion on the left. On the right, St Michael the Archangel (to whom Lyme Regis parish church is dedicated) is seen trampling on a dragon. The Latin inscription reads SIGILLUM COMVNE DE LIM, meaning "Common Seal of Lyme".

The Common Seal of Lyme is featured in a new series on the History of Lyme Regis in Museum Objects on the Museum website, produced by the Museum's research team. If you follow the link, you will find a number of in-depth PDF documents you can download, including one on this subject written by Thea Hawksworth.

The Beast in the Cellar

Geologists Ben Brooks and Phil Davidson have carried out an extensive analysis of a very large Ichthyosaur, codenamed E42, which is stored in the cellar of Lyme Regis Museum. The specimen is approximately 4.2 metres in length, and is broken into 18 separate blocks. It is believed to be a member of the genus Temnodontosaurus, which flourished in the early Jurassic period, between 198 and 185 million years ago.

This fantastic fossil is one of the largest to be discovered on the Jurassic Coast, England’s only Natural World Heritage Site, and is one of the hidden treasures of Lyme Regis Museum. But it won't be hidden much longer – Ben and Phil have made a digital reconstruction of the fossil (an overview of which is seen above), and this will soon be put online on the Museum's website. Director David Tucker said “we’re very grateful to Ben and Phil for the work they have done on this amazing fossil. We would love to be able to display the fossil in our museum, but unfortunately it is too big for our geology gallery. Putting these images on our website is the best way that we can make the ichthyosaur accessible to a wider audience.”

Lyme Regis is the home of the science of palaeontology and the museum is built on the footprint of the house of Mary Anning, the first and greatest of all fossil collectors. The museum is in the early stages of a project to extend its premises. “We are the key fossil site in Britain” added David “and we want to make sure that this unique town has the museum it deserves as the key fossil-hunting site in Britain”.

The photograph on the left shows the Museum basement where the 18 blocks containing the massive ichthyosaur specimen are stored.

Replica of an Iron Age mirror

The replica mirror shown here is one of the objects on display in Lyme Regis Museum. It is an accurate copy of the original, now in the British Museum in London, which was discovered in 1971 during excavation of the Iron Age and Roman site at Higher Holcombe Farm in Uplyme. As described in a previous blog post, the mirror dates from the period immediately prior to the Roman invasion, and was a very fashionable item in Southern Britain at that time.

The mirror is featured in a new series on the History of Lyme Regis in Museum Objects on the Museum website, produced by the Museum's research team. If you follow the link, you will find a number of in-depth PDF documents you can download, including one about the "Replica of Bronze Mirror from Uplyme", written by Max Hebditch.

A Neolithic Polished Stone Axe

The polished greenstone axe pictured on the left was found at Stonebarrow Down in the 1960s, in an area being eroded by the sea. It was made some time in the Neolithic period between 4,000 and 2,000 BC. It would have been used to cut down trees to make clearings for agriculture – the beginning of the felling of woodland and the impact of mankind on the environment. It was given to Lyme Regis Museum by John Fowles, and is on display in the Ancient History Cabinet on the Ground Floor of the Museum.

The axe-head is featured in a new series on the History of Lyme Regis in Museum Objects on the Museum website, produced by the Museum's research team. If you follow the link, you will find a number of in-depth PDF documents you can download, including one on the subject of the Neolithic Polished Stone Axe, written by Felicity Hebditch.

An Ichthyosaur named Kevin

The ichthyosaur specimen known as “Kevin” (left) is one of the most dramatic objects on display in Lyme Regis Museum. It is probably a member of the species Temnodontosaurus platyodon, first named by the Rev. William Conybeare, a Rector of Axminster in the 19th century. This particular specimen was found by workmen below Lyme’s main beach during Phase II of the sea defence works in 2005. It is named in remembrance of one of the workers who was killed the evening before it was found. The specimen is not complete, but the remains are those of a massive ichthyosaur, originally some 18ft 4in (5.6 metres) long. It is mounted on a board along one wall of the geology gallery. An impression of the outline of the body of the reptile is painted on the board. It was given by West Dorset District Council, which generously helped with the cost of equipment, excavation, preparation and mounting.

Kevin the Ichthyosaur is featured in a new series on the History of Lyme Regis in Museum Objects on the Museum website, produced by the Museum's  research team. If you follow the link, you will find a number of in-depth PDF documents you can download, including one on the subject of The Black Ven Ichthyosaur and the Ichthyosaur known as “Kevin”, written by Paddy Howe with photographs by Chris Andrew and Richard Bull.

Museum Events in January

Family Fun Day 

Wednesday 2 January 11am to 3pm
Bring your old Christmas wrapping paper to the Museum and Alison Bowskill will show you how to make a decorative fish mobile. Free Admission.

Fossil Walks

Friday 11th January 9am
Saturday 12th January 9.45am
Sunday 13th January 10.45am
Tuesday 15th January 12 noon
Friday 25th January 9am
Saturday 26th January 9.15am
Sunday 27th January 9.45am
Monday 28th January 10.15am
Tuesday 29th January 11am
Wednesday 30th January 11.30am
Thursday 31st January 12 noon

Mary Anning Walks

Saturday 5th January 1.30pm
Saturday 12th January 1.30pm
Saturday 19th January 1.30pm
Saturday 26th January 1.30pm

For more information, contact walks@lymeregismuseum.co.uk

The Lymiad - a unique book

The Lymiad is a long satirical poem taking the form of letters from Lyme Regis to a friend at Bath, written during the autumn of 1818 – the height of the Regency period made famous by Jane Austen, when both Lyme and Bath were top tourist destinations. The Lymiad was published by Lyme Regis Museum just over a year ago, and is available from the Museum shop either by visiting in person or by mail order. Just phone 01297 443370 with your credit card details to order your copy!

Museum events in December

Talks

West Country Sailcloth – The flax industry in South Somerset. A talk by Tony Brook (jointly with The Lyme Regis Society). Tuesday 11th December 2.30pm at Woodmead Hall

Mary Anning Walks

Saturday 1 December 2012 13.30
Saturday 8 December 2012 13.30
Saturday 15 December 2012 13.30
Saturday 22 December 2012 13.30
Saturday 29 December 2012 13.30

Fossil Walks

Saturday 1 December 2012 11.00
Sunday 2 December 2012 11.30
Monday 3 December 2012 12.00
Tuesday 4 December 2012 12.45
Thursday 13 December 2012 09.15
Friday 14 December 2012 10.15
Saturday 15 December 2012 11.00
Sunday 16 December 2012 11.45
Monday 17 December 2012 12.30
Saturday 29 December 2012 10.15
Sunday 30 December 2012 10.45

For more information, contact walks@lymeregismuseum.co.uk

Museum events in November

Fossil Walks

• Sunday 4 November 2012 12.15
• Tuesday 13 November 2012 09.00
• Thursday 15 November 2012 10.30
• Friday 16 November 2012 11.15
• Saturday 17 November 2012 12.00
• Sunday 18 November 2012 12.45
• Wednesday 28 November 2012 09.15 EXTRA WALK
• Thursday 29 November 2012 10.00  Fully booked
• Friday 30 November 2012 10.30  Cancelled

Mary Anning Walks

• Sunday 4 November 2012 13.30
• Sunday 11 November 2012 13.30
• Sunday 18 November 2012 13.30
• Sunday 25 November 2012 13.30

Lyme Regis in the 16th century

Henry VIII's antiquary John Leland visited Lyme Regis in the 1530s or 1540s, and described it as "a praty market town set in the rootes of an high rokky hill down to the hard shore". He also described the town's artificial harbour, which even in those days was known as the Cobb. Rather than the solid stone structure of today, this consisted of timber piles enclosing loose boulders, as shown in the drawing which is based on a map made in 1539 (by courtesy of the British Museum).

The 16th century Cobb was a miracle of engineering for its time, and described by the Elizabethan chronicler Holinshed as "a great and costly jetty". It required constant maintenance, and in the 1620s Thomas Gerard described how stones to reinforce the Cobb were carried there buoyed up by empty wooden casks.

A scale model of the Cobb as it would have looked in Elizabethan times, made by David West, is on display in Lyme Regis Museum.

New exhibition: Wool in the Lim Valley

Lyme Regis Museum’s new exhibition ‘Wool in the Lim Valley’ opens with a launch party on Friday October 19 at 6.30pm. Everyone is invited to drinks and free admission to see why the wool trade was so important to Lyme from medieval times to the mid-1800s.

From fleece to finished cloth, families of the Lim Valley – including their children – were involved in the production of wool. From the farms where sheep fleeces were packed into woolsacks, through the various processes of scouring, scribbling, combing, carding, spinning, dyeing, weaving and finishing, the people of Lyme and Uplyme contributed. Their workplaces were their homes, the watermills and, later, small factories along the River Lim.

The exhibition is curated by the museum’s local history experts Richard Bull and Graham Davies with help from Ken Gollop and Barbara Bull. Barbara will be demonstrating spinning and inviting everyone to ‘have a go’ during the launch party on Friday.

‘Wool in the Lim Valley’ runs until 29 November at Lyme Regis Museum: open every day during October, 10am to 5pm, and from the beginning of November open Wednesdays to Sundays, 11am to 4pm. Download Richard Bull’s research on this subject from the museum’s website. Printed copies are available from Lyme Regis Museum bookshop, telephone 01297 443370.

The photograph above shows the Lyme Round House – a wool drying tower – when it was still roofed around 1900 (picture Lyme Regis Museum).

Fossil Fish

Although best known for ammonites and ichthyosaurs, the rocks around Lyme Regis contain plenty of fossil fish as well. The ground floor gallery at the Museum is currently full of them! The picture above shows just one of the many display cases, containing impressive complete specimens as well as smaller fragments of the kind the casual fossil-hunter is more likely to come across.

The picture on the right shows a large shark fin spine that was found on Monmouth Beach more than 20 years ago. At the top you can see a bite mark on the spine, which may have been made by an ichthyosaur!

Museum events in October

Talks

• Thursday 4 October 2.30pm at Woodmead Hall: Who do you think you are?,
  an interactive session with leading family-history tutor Jane Ferentzi-Sheppard. You're invited to bring along your laptop or iPad so that you can begin tracing your family tree there and then -- true audience participation! Refreshments from 2.30pm; session starts at 3.00pm. Organised by The Friends of Lyme Regis Museum. This event replaces the originally scheduled talk, "Egypt, Civilisation of the Sands" by Nicole Douek, which has had to be cancelled due to illness.
• Tuesday 23 October 2.30pm at Woodmead Hall: Stone Circles of West Dorset, by Cecil Amor. Organised jointly with the Lyme Regis Society.

Fossil Walks

• Monday 1 October 2012 11.15
• Tuesday 2 October 2012 11.45
• Wednesday 3 October 2012 12.15
• Thursday 4 October 2012 12.45
• Sunday 14 October 2012 09.30
• Monday 15 October 2012 10.15
• Tuesday 16 October 2012 11.00
• Wednesday 17 October 2012 11.45
• Thursday 18 October 2012 12.30
• Friday 19 October 2012 13.15
• Saturday 27 October 2012 09.00
• Sunday 28 October 2012 09.00
• Monday 29 October 2012 09.15
• Tuesday 30 October 2012 09.45
• Wednesday 31 October 2012 10.15

Mary Anning Walks

• Saturday 6 October 2012 13.30
• Saturday 13 October 2012 13.30
• Saturday 27 October 2012 13.30

Rockpooling Walks

• Friday October 5 14.15
• Saturday October 20 15.00
• Sunday October 21 15.45

To book a place on any of the guided walks, please contact us on walks@lymeregismuseum.co.uk

Mary Anning Day 2012

Yesterday was Mary Anning Day at Lyme Regis Museum, celebrating the heritage of Lyme’s most famous fossil-hunter, Mary Anning (1799 – 1847). It was a lively day of events both indoors and out-of-doors. Natalie Manifold (left) led two of her ever-popular Mary Anning walks around the town, visiting the various places that Mary lived and worked, and her burial site and memorial window in the Parish Church.

There was a packed programme of lectures in the Marine Theatre, introduced by Museum Director David Tucker (below).

The first talk was given by Richard Edmonds, Earth Science Manager for the Jurassic Coast, who gave an informative and entertaining presentation on the challenges of managing a World Heritage Site that sprawls along the Dorset and East Devon coast for almost a hundred miles. He explained that while countless sites around the world can boast beautiful coastal scenery and fascinating geology, the Jurassic Coast is unique because the way the rock strata are tilted means that by walking the hundred mile length of coast you are effectively walking through 180 million years of history, during which massive changes occurred in the evolution of life on Earth.

Richard talked a lot about coastal erosion, which, although it is understandably seen as a “threat” in human terms, is the very thing that creates the coastline and maintains its perpetual interest. Fossils are only discoverable in a brief window of time – days or weeks – after they are exposed by erosion and before they are destroyed by it. So the thousands of fossil hunters who come to the coast every year are a good thing for conservation, not a bad thing as is often supposed!

Not surprisingly, there was plenty of practical fossil hunting going on yesterday, as well as the indoor talks and Museum displays. Museum geologists Paddy Howe and Chris Andrew (right) led an enthusiastic group of fossil collectors on one of their regular walks along the beach. As well as countless ammonites and other invertebrate fossils, there was the usual find of a small but perfectly preserved ichthyosaur vertebra, which Chris can be seen holding in the photo.

There are more “Mary Anning Weekend” events at the Museum today (Sunday), and both the fossil walks and Mary Anning walks continue throughout the year.

Coming up: Mary Anning Weekend

Fossil fish and sharks are coming to Lyme Regis Museum and the Marine Theatre over the weekend (29 and 30 September). Celebrating the significance of Lyme as the birthplace of palaeontology, the museum’s Mary Anning Weekend presents two action-packed days of fossil facts and fun.

Stefanie Klug (right) of the University of Bristol uncovers the secrets of Jurassic sharks; and Matt Friedman (below, left) of the University of Oxford tells the story of the coelacanth fish, a living fossil thought to have become extinct 65 million years ago but rediscovered in 1938 still swimming the earth’s oceans.

Lyme’s own Richard Edmonds, Earth Science Manager for the Jurassic Coast, explains why our coast is so important; Tom Sharpe of the National Museum of Wales tells the story of the Philpot sisters, who were important fossil collectors in Lyme at the time of Mary Anning; and Sir Crispin Tickell, environmentalist and expert on global climate change, tackles the subject of the human future.

Museum admission is free all weekend, where there is a rare opportunity to see an exhibition of local fossil fish including the Philpot sisters’ collection on loan from Oxford University Museum of Natural History. Especially for children there are ammonite polishing activities and the chance to join in making a giant fossil fish with artist Darrell Wakelam. The museum’s geologists Paddy Howe and Chris Andrew are conducting fossil hunting walks, historian Daphne Baker presents an insight into the life of Mary Anning, and Natalie Manifold takes groups on guided walks of the town as Mary knew it.

To book talks or walks call into Lyme Regis Museum or telephone 01297 443370 or email walks@lymeregismuseum.co.uk.

Full details and times of the weekend’s activities are:

SATURDAY – in and around Lyme Regis Museum

Get up close to rare FOSSIL FISH AND SHARKS. Meet the Philpot fish on a return visit to Lyme from Oxford University Museum of Natural History.

Drop in to the museum’s ground-floor gallery – FREE

Get hands-on with 3-D art – MAKE A GIANT FOSSIL FISH with artist Darrell Wakelam. Cutting-and-sticking fun for children of all ages.

Outside the museum – drop by from 11am to 4pm, materials provided FREE

Have a go at AMMONITE POLISHING with fossil experts Paddy, Chris and Brandon. Take home your own beautiful 190-million-year-old treasure.

Outside the museum from 10.30am to 4pm – materials at pocket-money price.

SATURDAY – on the beach and around town

10am FOSSIL HUNTING WALK – get out on the beach with geologists Paddy and Chris. Everyone should find a fossil!

Booking advised – phone, email or call in. Ticket £10 adult: £5 child/student.

12.30pm AND 2.30pm MARY ANNING WALKS. Do you want to know about Mary Anning’s life in Lyme? Then go on Natalie’s guided walk.

Booking advised – phone, email or call in. Ticket £6 adult: £3 child/student.

SATURDAY MORNING – in the Marine Theatre

10.30am to 1pm – A Morning of Discovery

10.30am – Richard Edmonds, Earth Science Manager for the Jurassic Coast explains its importance: Footsteps through Time: the Jurassic Coast in Context.

11.30am – John Cawley of University of Bristol reveals his new research: Pachycormus – Extinct Mesozoic Ray-finned Fish.

12.15pm – Dr Stefanie Klug also of University of Bristol brings to life: Sharks of the Lower Jurassic.

Booking advised – phone, email or call in. Ticket £6 adult: FREE child/student.

Combined ticket (morning and afternoon) £10 adult: FREE child/student.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON – in the Marine Theatre

2pm to 5pm – Living Fossils, Collectors and the Human Future

2pm – Tom Sharpe of the National Museum of Wales discusses: The Philpot Family and other Early Lyme Fossil Collectors.

3pm – Dr Matt Friedman of University of Oxford asks: Coelacanth: Living Fossil or Specialised Survivor?

4pm – Sir Crispin Tickell author of the influential Climate Change and World Affairs poses the question: The Human Future: Whither the Anthropocene?

Booking advised – phone, email or call in. Ticket £7 adult: FREE child/student.

Combined ticket (morning and afternoon) £10 adult: FREE child/student.

SUNDAY – in and around Lyme Regis Museum

Get up close to rare FOSSIL FISH AND SHARKS. Meet the Philpot fish on a return visit to Lyme from Oxford University Museum of Natural History.

Drop in to the museum’s ground-floor gallery – FREE

Get hands-on with 3-D art – MAKE A GIANT FOSSIL FISH with artist Darrell Wakelam. Cutting-and-sticking fun for children of all ages.

Outside the museum – drop by from 11am to 4pm, materials provided FREE

Have a go at AMMONITE POLISHING with fossil experts Paddy, Chris and Brandon. Take home your own beautiful 190-million-year-old treasure.

Outside the museum from 10.30am to 4pm – materials at pocket-money price.

3pm – Listen to Daphne Baker’s fascinating insight: MARY ANNING – FOSSIL PIONEER about the life and times of the Anning family in Lyme.

FREE – in the museum’s geology gallery (first floor)

SUNDAY – on the beach

10.45am FOSSIL HUNTING WALK – get out on the beach with geologists Paddy and Chris. Everyone should find a fossil!

Booking advised – phone, email or call in. Ticket £10 adult: £5 child/student.

Museum Exhibition: ‘... Where I Intend to End My Days’

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

Jennie Pearson’s textile exhibition ‘... where I intend to end my days’ has opened at Lyme Regis Museum. It celebrates the connection between Lyme and the early colonial history of Australia, in particular drawing on the story of the Spencer family of Lyme Regis.

At a preview of the exhibition (on Saturday September 1) the artist’s husband Adrian Pearson, who has researched the history of the early pioneers, gave a short talk ‘Sir Richard Spencer: a corner of Lyme in Western Australia’.

The exhibition is part of Lyme Regis ArtsFest and runs until 15 October. The museum is open every day (10am to 5pm Monday to Saturday and 11am to 5pm on Sundays) with free admission on Sunday 9th and 16th September.

Everyone is invited to a drop-in workshop with Jennie Pearson on Wednesday September 12 between 11am and 4pm. Take a sketchbook or camera – collage materials will be available – for a day of inspiration, encouragement and discussion. Materials and admission to the museum is free.

The picture shows Jennie Pearson with her husband Adrian Pearson (left), and the museum's chairman of trustees Stephen Locke. Photograph by Carole Halden.

Lyme Regis Artsfest 2012

This year's Lyme Regis ArtsFest takes place from Saturday 8th to Sunday 16th September, at venues around the town. The Museum is hosting the following events:

Art Workshop, Wednesday 12 September
Drop in free 11am - 4pm
Get creative with local artist Jennie Pearson! Bring your sketchbook or camera (there will be collage materials available if you prefer that) and prepare to be inspired by the museum's collections. Drop in between 11am and 4pm for a day of arty encouragement, convivial discussion and refreshments. Also, there is an opportunity to see Jennie's textile exhibition in the Rotunda gallery and understand her interpretation of the story behind it. Admission and materials are free.

Re-collection - launch and reception, Thursday 13 September
 17.30 - 19.30 at the Museum, free entry
Thursday 13 September sees 'The Art Crawl', an evening of events at various venues around Lyme Regis. The Museum will host an open house with the chance to meet some of Lyme's talented artists involved in 'Re:collection', and to hear their plans for creatively reinterpreting museum artefacts that have inspired them. Drinks and art chat between 5.30pm and 7.30pm. ('Re:collection' is an initiative by ArtsFest and the museum to support the creation of a contemporary archive of works across the arts, inspired by the museum's collections.)

Museum Events in September

3pm Thursday September 6: Rockpooling

Explore rockpools out on Broad Ledge with Lyme Regis Museum marine biologist Chris Andrew and geologist Paddy Howe. See at close quarters the magical world of seaweed, fish and creatures like velvet swimming crabs and squat lobsters that lie in the wake of the receding tide. Meet at the museum.

6.30pm Saturday September 8: A Look at George Vialls

Lyme Regis Museum was built in 1902. Its architect, George Vialls produced a stunning building in Northern European renaissance style with a grand staircase. Join the museum’s former curator, Max Hebditch, in looking at the life and career of this outstanding architect. Saturday September 8, drinks from 6.30pm - all are welcome, free.

11am - 4pm Wednesday September 12: Re:collection Workshop

A drop-in day for adults at Lyme Regis Museum – sketch or photograph the museum’s collections. Join artist Jennie Pearson with your sketch book or camera for a day of inspiration, convivial discussion and encouragement. Collage materials provided and a glass of wine at midday – all are welcome, free.

10am - 5pm Saturday September 29 and Sunday September 30: Mary Anning Weekend at Lyme Regis Museum

A weekend of talks, walks and children’s activities. Fossil fish and sharks will be the theme of a programme of talks by six scientists in this field of research. Among the speakers will be the eminent environmentalist Sir Crispin Tickell; Tom Sharpe of National Museum of Wales; Dr Matt Friedman of the University of Oxford; John Cawley and Dr Stefanie Klug of University of Bristol; and Richard Edmonds, Jurassic Coast Earth Science Manager. Tickets for these talks are available at the museum shop. A highlight of the weekend will be a return visit to Lyme of the Philpot sisters’ collection of fossil fish. The sisters lived in Lyme at the time of Mary Anning and their important collection went to Oxford University in 1880. Museum admission is free all weekend.

The programme of activities for Mary Anning Weekend is:

SATURDAY – in and around Lyme Regis Museum

Get up close to rare FOSSIL FISH AND SHARKS. Meet the Philpot fish on a return visit to Lyme from Oxford University Museum of Natural History.

Drop in to the museum’s ground-floor gallery – FREE

Get hands-on with 3-D art – MAKE A GIANT FOSSIL FISH with artist Darrell Wakelam. Cutting-and-sticking fun for children of all ages.

Outside the museum – drop by from 11am to 4pm, materials provided FREE

Have a go at AMMONITE POLISHING with fossil experts Paddy, Chris and Brandon. Take home your own beautiful 190-million-year-old treasure.

Outside the museum from 10.30am to 4pm – materials at pocket-money price.

SATURDAY – on the beach and around town

10am FOSSIL HUNTING WALK – get out on the beach with geologists Paddy and Chris. Everyone should find a fossil!

Booking advised – phone, email or call in. Ticket £10 adult: £5 child/student.

12.30pm AND 2.30pm MARY ANNING WALKS. Do you want to know about Mary Anning’s life in Lyme? Then go on Natalie’s guided walk.

Booking advised – phone, email or call in. Ticket £6 adult: £3 child/student.

SATURDAY MORNING – in the Marine Theatre

10.30am to 1pm – A Morning of Discovery

10.30am – Richard Edmonds, Earth Science Manager for the Jurassic Coast explains its importance: Footsteps through Time: the Jurassic Coast in Context.

11.30am – John Cawley of University of Bristol reveals his new research: Pachycormus – Extinct Mesozoic Ray-finned Fish.

12.15pm – Dr Stefanie Klug also of University of Bristol brings to life: Sharks of the Lower Jurassic.

Booking advised – phone, email or call in. Ticket £6 adult: FREE child/student.

Combined ticket (morning and afternoon) £10 adult: FREE child/student.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON – in the Marine Theatre

2pm to 5pm – Living Fossils, Collectors and the Human Future

2pm – Tom Sharpe of the National Museum of Wales discusses: The Philpot Family and other Early Lyme Fossil Collectors.

3pm – Dr Matt Friedman of University of Oxford asks: Coelacanth: Living Fossil or Specialised Survivor?

4pm – Sir Crispin Tickell author of the influential Climate Change and World Affairs poses the question: The Human Future: Whither the Anthropocene?

Booking advised – phone, email or call in. Ticket £7 adult: FREE child/student.

Combined ticket (morning and afternoon) £10 adult: FREE child/student.

SUNDAY – in and around Lyme Regis Museum

Get up close to rare FOSSIL FISH AND SHARKS. Meet the Philpot fish on a return visit to Lyme from Oxford University Museum of Natural History.

Drop in to the museum’s ground-floor gallery – FREE

Get hands-on with 3-D art – MAKE A GIANT FOSSIL FISH with artist Darrell Wakelam. Cutting-and-sticking fun for children of all ages.

Outside the museum – drop by from 11am to 4pm, materials provided FREE

Have a go at AMMONITE POLISHING with fossil experts Paddy, Chris and Brandon. Take home your own beautiful 190-million-year-old treasure.

Outside the museum from 10.30am to 4pm – materials at pocket-money price.

3pm – Listen to Daphne Baker’s fascinating insight: MARY ANNING – FOSSIL PIONEER about the life and times of the Anning family in Lyme.

FREE – in the museum’s geology gallery (first floor)

SUNDAY – on the beach

10.45am FOSSIL HUNTING WALK – get out on the beach with geologists Paddy and Chris. Everyone should find a fossil!

Booking advised – phone, email or call in. Ticket £10 adult: £5 child/student.

Art Exhibition until 15 October

The museum’s new exhibition, ‘... where I intend to end my days’ by local artist Jennie Pearson, explores family links between Lyme and early pioneers of her native Western Australia. Jennie’s hand- and machine-stitched textiles make the connection with references to Lyme people such as Sir Richard Spencer who, in 1833, set sail to become Government Resident of the fledgling settlement in Albany, South West Australia. The exhibition is part of Lyme’s ArtsFest and admission is free on Sunday 9th and 16th September. It runs until 15 October when the museum is open every day (10am to 5pm Monday to Saturday and  11am to 5pm on Sundays).

Mary Anning Walks

• Sunday 2 September 2012 15.00
• Sunday 9 September 2012 15.00
• Sunday 16 September 2012 15.00
• Sunday 23 September 2012 15.00
• Saturday 29 September 2012 12.30 & 14.30

Fossil Walks

• Saturday 1 September 2012 11.15
• Sunday 2 September 2012 11.45
• Monday 3 September 2012 12.15
• Tuesday 4 September 2012 12.45
• Wednesday 5 September 2012 13.15
• Friday 14 September 2012 09.00
• Saturday 15 September 2012 10.00
• Sunday 16 September 2012 10.45
• Monday 17 September 2012 11.30
• Tuesday 18 September 2012 12.00
• Wednesday 19 September 2012 12.45
• Friday 28 September 2012 09.15
• Saturday 29 September 2012 10.00
• Sunday 30 September 2012 10.45

The picture at the top of the page shows Lyme Regis Museum, whose architect was George Vialls, while the one on the left shows the cupola Vialls placed on the top of the Museum. Both photographs are by Peter Wiles.