Banksy in Lyme Regis

At the beginning of April this new piece of street art was discovered in Lyme Regis, as was mentioned at the time on the Lyme Regis Society blog. It depicts an origami-style crane holding a goldfish in its beak, and is located by the river where Coombe Street meets Mill Green. It looks like the work of the world-famous Bristol based artist, Banksy.

Natalie Manifold now reports that the picture has been confirmed as a genuine Banksy! The photograph below is featured on the official Banksy website at http://www.banksy.co.uk/outdoors/crane.html:

A moth evening in Lyme Regis

As part of the nationwide Museums at Night initiative on Friday 18 May, Lyme Regis Museum held its first moth evening! Dr Phil Sterling, Dorset County Council’s natural environment manager and ecologist, gave a talk at the museum, and then led over 30 people to a site off Charmouth Road, where mercury vapour lights had been set up by Alan Kennard and Marjorie Waters. Some 36 different species were seen over a two hour period. Pick of the catch was a Ruddy Carpet, a nationally scarce moth, but known to inhabit Lyme. A Cream Wave also stood out amongst the more common species such as Flame Shoulder, Hebrew Character, Scalloped Hazel, Green Carpet, Iron Prominent, Pale Tussock and Twenty-plume moth.

The left-hand picture below shows Phil Sterling identifying one the catch to members of the tour group. On the right can be seen two of the moths that were caught: the yellow one is a ‘Brimstone’ (Opisthograptis luteoilata) and the other specimen is a ‘Green Carpet’ (Colostygia pectinataria).

New acquisitions

The photograph shows some of the new objects on display in Lyme Regis Museum. As well as objects found on the beach and old souvenirs of Lyme, there is the deckchair attendant's ticket machine and branding iron. Both objects were rescued from the Marine Parade shelters before the recent refurbishment work started.

The 'brand' on the branding iron reads LRTC, for Lyme Regis Town Council. It was used to mark deckchairs to deter people from walking off with them!

New Museum Director

A new director has taken up his duties at Lyme Regis Museum. David Tucker arrives with the ambition that the museum should become to Lyme Regis what the Tate is to St Ives.

‘That means a bigger museum building’, he confirms, ‘And recognising our strengths – which are in palaeontology of course, but also our link with Mary Anning (it was on the site of her house that the museum was built), and in Lyme’s literary connections.

‘Immediately, I shall be building relationships with other Lyme organisations. For instance the Development Trust and its plan for a Jurassic Coast Studies Centre – the museum and such a development complement each other.’

David Tucker has 20 years’ museum experience, most recently as County Museums Adviser for Dorset, where his involvement was instrumental in acquiring important fossils for Jurassic Coast museums.

Ammonite research

‘Epifaunal worm tubes on Lower Lias ammonites’ is the rather daunting title of a research paper published in the Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association, which describes parasitic worms that can be seen on numerous fossil specimens in the Lyme Regis Museum’s collection. On the example shown here, the worm tube starts just above the point marked O in the ammonite’s umbilical seam, follows the umbilical seam for over half a whorl in the same direction as the ammonite growth, and then crosses the penultimate whorl where it is overgrown by the ammonite. It continues around the periphery of the ammonite and terminates well short of the ammonite aperture (the white bar indicates a scale of 5 mm).

You can read the full paper, with many more illustrations, on the Museum’s website.

Museum Events in May

LYME REGIS FOSSIL FESTIVAL

SATURDAY and SUNDAY 5 and 6 May

Free entry to Museum - Download flyer
See superb fossils and William Buckland’s coprolite table. Discover the extraordinary story of Mary Anning and – this weekend only - see archives that shed light on the geologists she associated with courtesy of the Museum of Wales.

Ammonite Polishing: Polishing has never been this much fun! Turn your ammonite into the most glittery fossil of all time, with help from Paddy, Chris, Harry and Ben. Both days 10am-4pm in the marquee. Small charge for the ammonite.

Paint your own Fossil Plaster Cast: Make and take home – family fun activities with Phil Anslow. Both days 11am-3pm in the marquee. Small charge for materials.

Family Fossil Hunting Walk: SATURDAY 9.45am and SUNDAY 10.45am. Get hands-on on the Jurassic Coast with the Museum’s celebrity fossil hunters Paddy Howe and Chris Andrew. Educational and fun. Maximum of 15 people per guide. Walk takes 3 hours. To book – telephone 01297 443370 or email walks@lymeregismuseum.co.uk. Adults £10, Children £5.  Meet at museum.

Mary Anning and her Geologist Friends: SATURDAY 11am and SUNDAY 3pm. Share the thoughts of the 19th-century gentlemen fossil hunters who became Mary Anning’s friends. Illustrated by archives from National Museum of Wales, Tom Sharpe talks about the unusual relationships between Mary Anning and Buckland, Conybeare and De la Beche. FREE - no booking required. Suitable for age 12 and above.  Venue: museum.

Dinner with Dr Buckland: SATURDAY AND SUNDAY 12noon. Nineteenth-century scientist-clergyman William Buckland boasted that he had eaten his way through the whole of animal creation. Neither sentimentality nor revulsion stopped him devouring slices of crocodile, hedgehogs, puppies and mice. Join him for dinner! Harry Ford plays Dr Buckland in a performance of William Plomer’s outrageous comic verse. FREE - no booking required.  Venue: museum.

Mary Anning Walk: SATURDAY 1.30pm. Explore the paths and streets of Old Lyme as Mary Anning knew them with guide Natalie Manifold. Walk takes about 1½ hours. To book – telephone 01297 443370 or email walks@lymeregismuseum.co.uk. Adults £6, Children £3.  Meet at museum.

What Kept Ammonites Afloat? SATURDAY 3pm and SUNDAY 11am. Insight into the lifestyle of Lyme’s quintessential fossils; how they lived, were bitten and played host to hitch-hiking worm tubes! A reconstruction of the lifespan of an ammonite, by Prof Chris Paul. FREE - no booking required. Suitable for age 12 and above.  Venue: museum.

MUSEUMS AT NIGHT

FRIDAY 18 MAY

Come to Museums at Night, the annual after-hours celebration of the arts, culture and heritage at Lyme Regis Museum – free entry.

Hedge Britannia at 6.30pm: Author Hugh Barker talks about his enthusiasm for the hedgerows and hedges that shape our landscape and are among our most ancient monuments. From segregated fields and twisting hedgerows to hedge-laying champions and topiary-tenders – no aspect of the hedge world escapes him. Free. No booking required.

Drinks at 7.30pm: Refreshments and book signing by Hugh Barker.

Museums at Night Moth Ball at 8pm: What do moths get up to at night? Find out during this evening with Dr Phil Sterling – a talk, followed at dusk by a walk to see the nightlife of the local moth world. We will walk to an area off Charmouth Road, Lyme Regis, to see what species are attracted to our lights, captured, identified then released. Dr Sterling is Dorset County Council’s natural environment manager and ecologist, also the county moth recorder. He will be assisted by entomologist Alan Kennard and museum zoologist Chris Andrew Free. Please make a booking for the Moth Ball to avoid disappointment – numbers are limited: telephone 01297 443370 or email walks@lymeregismuseum.co.uk Sensible shoes needed – and sequins if you would like!

WALKS

E-mail walks@lymeregismuseum.co.uk to book your place...

Fossil Walks

• Friday 4 May 2012 09.00
• Saturday 5 May 2012 9.45
• Sunday 6 May 2012 10.45
• Monday 7 May 2012 11.30
• Tuesday 8 May 2012 12.15
• Friday 18 May 2012 09.00
• Saturday 19 May 2012 09.30
• Sunday 20 May 2012 10.15
• Monday 21 May 2012 10.45
• Tuesday 22 May 2012 11.15
• Thursday 24 May 2012 12.30
• Friday 25 May 2012 13.00
• Saturday 26 May 2012 13.30

Mary Anning Walks

• Saturday 5 May 2012 13.30
• Sunday 13 May 2012 13.30
• Saturday 19 May 2012 13.30
• Saturday 26 May 2012 13.30
• Sunday 27 May 2012 13.30

Rockpooling Walks

• May 9 14.15
• May 10 15.00
• May 11 15.30
• May 23 13.00
• May 27 15.30

Oscar Wilde in Lyme Regis

Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900) was one of the most celebrated playwrights of the nineteenth century. He was born in Dublin (where the statue pictured on the left can be seen), but spent his later years in London. He came to Lyme Regis for a holiday in 1891, and stayed at the Old Monmouth Hotel  (then called the White Hart). According to a sign inside the hotel, Wilde scratched his name on a window!

Thanks to Patience Gent for drawing my attention to this story. Patience also mentioned that the parents of the 20th century novelist John Masters used to live in Lyme Regis.

For the many other literary figures associated with Lyme, see the Museum's Writers and Artists page.

Book Night at the Museum

Lyme Regis Museum took part in World Book Night yesterday – an annual celebration of reading when tens of thousands of people worldwide give books within their communities to spread the joy of the printed word.

The Museum gave visitors copies of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – a great work of literature and a title that is appropriate for Lyme Regis with its Austen connections.

Local residents and visitors from Denmark, America and Australia who were among those calling in to the museum on April 23 were able to see the Jane Austen family items on display there and receive a free copy of her book. Some were first-time Austen readers, others passionate book-lovers, all wanting to pass on the thrill of reading to someone they knew.

Clockwise from top left, the picture shows Margaret Rose (Chairman of the Friends of Lyme Regis Museum), Elma Tahir from London, Shirley Sibbick from Christchurch, Jan Salling Andersen of Odense, Denmark (birthplace of another great storyteller, Hans Christian Andersen) and Robin and Garry Spry all the way from Queenscliff in Australia.

Lyme Regis ArtsFest

The Tenth Lyme Regis ArtsFest will take place in September this year, but planning ahead for 2013 is already underway with a new and exciting initiative for all artists, writers, performers, craftspeople, photographers and musicians called “Re:collection”

Conceived by ArtsFest Creative Directors Karol Kulik and Christine Allison, Re:collection is a year-long project about inspiration, ideas and creation. Inspiration from where? Answer... Lyme Regis Museum!

As Christine puts it, “That wonderful gem of a place nestled in the heart of our town holds an array of artefacts in all shapes and forms. These collectively record our Lyme Regis history, geology, folklore, domestic life, sea life, famous and infamous residents and more. Each exhibit has its own story to tell. If one exhibit could ignite a creative spark in an artist, what would be the outcome? A painting, a sketchbook, a book of poems, a drama, a dance, a piece of music, a film, a series of photographs, an animation, an embroidery, a sculpture, a happening, a book, a workshop – the list is only limited by your imagination.”

“Go to the museum and look with new eyes,” she continues. “Find something that makes you curious, use it as springboard for ideas and get the creative juices flowing. The smallest of things could inspire a huge abstract painting, a theatre production or a sculpture, let your imagination loose.”

The project has already spawned some interesting proposals, and ArtsFest will be seeking funding for the more ambitious projects that require substantial budgets. Re:collection will be formally launched at ArtsFest 2012 in September, and all artists' work will need to be completed by September 2013, culminating in a group show at The Malthouse and other suitable venues in the town. Artists of all disciplines (individuals or groups) are urged to visit the museum now and email their ideas and plans to the ArtsFest organizers.

A gift to Lyme Regis Museum

Lyme Regis Museum is pleased to have received a gift of a large framed photograph that has hung in the Lyme Regis branch of the Lloyds TSB bank for many years. Pictured above is the bank’s local manager Joanne White handing over the picture to museum chairman Stephen Locke (on the left) and the museum’s newly appointed director David Tucker (right) .

Mr Locke said 'The museum is very grateful for the gift of this picture. It shows how Broad Street in Lyme Regis looked for the 1980 filming of John Fowles' book French Lieutenant's Woman. This was an important event in the town's recent past and illustrates its literary connection to John Fowles. The museum is also proud that Fowles was its curator while filming was taking place.'

Museum Events in April

WEDNESDAY 4 APRIL 11.00 to 3.00 at the Museum

Easter Family Fun Day at Lyme Regis Museum
Get creative with Alison Bowskill. From Easter chicks to first swallows, birds will be everywhere! Drop into the museum to make and decorate your own Easter bird to take and hang up at home. Free admission for adults and children and free art materials. Suitable for children ages 5 to 10 years.

SATURDAY 7 APRIL 10.00 to 1.00 at The Inn Place, Pilot Boat Inn, Lyme Regis

Book Sale and Coffee Morning
Have a coffee and browse hundreds of quality books.
Admission £1.00 includes refreshments. Bargains galore! Coffee! Conviviality!

SATURDAY 7 APRIL 2.30pm at the Museum

Know Your Fossils
Lyme Regis Museum’s fossil experts Chris Andrew and Paddy Howe (right) invite you to come along to discover how to find and identify fossils, and to see and handle their more unusual finds. Bring along your own discoveries for identification. No booking necessary.

Thursday 12 APRIL 2.30pm (approx) at Woodmead Hall

Fairgrounds in Wartime
A talk by Kay Townsend. Organised by The Friends of Lyme Regis Museum
The talk will follow the Friends' AGM

SUNDAY 15 APRIL 2.30pm at the Museum

Know Your Fossils
Lyme Regis Museum’s fossil experts Chris Andrew and Paddy Howe invite you to come along to discover how to find and identify fossils, and to see and handle their more unusual finds. Bring along your own discoveries for identification. No booking necessary.

TUESDAY 24 APRIL 2.30pm (approx) at Woodmead Hall

Poundbury, urban triumph or disaster?
A talk by Martin Pakes (this replaces the previously advertised talk)
Jointly with The Lyme Regis Society
The talk will follow the Society's AGM

Fossil Walks
Join fossil experts Paddy Howe and Chris Andrew on their famous fossil hunting walks and find your own 150-million-year-old fossil. For adults and children alike, it’s an unforgettable experience. Walks last around 3 hours. To book a place telephone 01297 443370 or email walks@lymeregismuseum.co.uk

• Thursday 5 April 2012 09.30
• Friday 6 April 2012 10.15
• Monday 9 April 2012 12.30
• Tuesday 10 April 2012 13.15
• Wednesday 18 April 2012 09.00
• Thursday 19 April 2012 09.30
• Friday 20 April 2012 10.15
• Saturday 21 April 2012 10.45
• Sunday 22 April 2012 11.15
• Monday 23 April 2012 11.45
• Tuesday 24 April 2012 12.15
• Wednesday 25 April 2012 12.45

Mary Anning Walks
Join guide Natalie Manifold and explore the paths and streets of Old Lyme as Mary knew them, and learn about the life of the ‘greatest fossil hunter ever known’. The walk takes about 1½ hours. To book a place telephone 01297 443370 or email walks@lymeregismuseum.co.uk

• Saturday 7 April 2012 13.30
• Sunday 15 April 2012 13.30
• Saturday 21 April 2012 13.30
• Saturday 28 April 2012 13.30
• Sunday 29 April 2012 13.30

Rockpooling
Join marine biologist Chris Andrew and geologist Paddy Howe and see at close quarters the magical world of creatures like velvet swimming crabs and squat lobsters that lie in the wake of the receding tide. The sessions last around 1½ hours. To book a place telephone 01297 443370 or email walks@lymeregismuseum.co.uk

• April 4 10.00
• April 11 15.00
• April 12 16.00
• April 26 14.30
• April 27 15.00

Rockpool Ichthyosaur

Chris Andrew, Lyme Regis Museum's Education Officer, sent these photographs of an interesting new fossil find by Museum geologist Paddy Howe. Here is what Chris says about them: "Paddy found some scattered Ichthyosaur bits on Saturday 10th March. The pictures show the vertebrae that Paddy first spotted in a pale mudstone at the bottom of a rockpool. Several friends volunteered to help. Paddy had to clear the sand covering the bones, so you have a nice picture of him sweeping the rockpool. Unfortunately the mudstone was very crumbly and all the bones came out separately. Paddy got both front limb bones (humerus) and about ten vertebrae, a few paddle bones and rib sections."

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.