Mary Anning

Mary Anning (1799-1847) lived all her life in Lyme Regis and has been described as ‘the greatest fossilist who ever lived'.  She collected fossils at a time when scientific enquiry was leading to a change in the way people thought about the evolution of life and our planet - a story that would culminate with Charles Darwin's ‘On the Origin of Species', published in 1859.

Mary collected fossils in the cliffs around Lyme and Charmouth as a child, working with her father Richard and her brother Joseph.  Her father died when she was just 11 years of age, and Mary took on the family business, becoming the most skilled of collectors with an impressive knowledge of anatomy.  Her record of fossil ‘firsts' is remarkable, and resulted in many of the leading geologists of the day visiting the coast to learn from her work.  Her achievements are all the more remarkable as she had no formal education.

Mary's extraordinary finds

Mary Anning, with her family, is responsible for a catalogue of exceptional fossil discoveries.  They include the first ichthyosaur to come to scientific attention in 1814, the first complete plesiosaur in 1824, and the first British find of a flying reptile in 1828.  She found countless other fossils of Jurassic marine animals.  Her story is on display a the Lyme Regis Museum including her hammer.  Many of her early important finds are on display at the Natural History Museum in London.

Recent discoveries

Mary Anning collected fossils nearly 200 years ago, and professional fossil collecting remains an important part of the modern life of the World Heritage Site.  New and spectacular finds are still being made, mainly by local collectors.

The Scelidosaurus: 

A recent important find is a near complete 3 metre skeleton of the dinosaur, Scelidosaurus, a species unique to Lyme Regis and Charmouth.  Many separate pieces that make up the fossil were discovered over a period of two years.

Read a news article about the Scelidosaurus and find out when you can see it on display at the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery.