Mary Anning's Legacy in Lyme Regis
Lyme Regis Museum is built on the site of the house Mary Anning lived in when she was growing up in Lyme. They have permanent displays about Mary Anning and often have Mary Anning fossil specimens and documents borrowed from other institutions. They also have displays on the gentlemen collectors and academics who frequented Lyme Regis. The museum also contains the history of Lyme Regis, including the siege of Lyme in the civil war and the towns part in the Monmouth rebellion. Their website will give you details of these and the museums opening hours.
The Philpot sister’s house. This is the house owned by three sisters who were keen fossil collectors at the time of Mary Anning. They were friends of the young Mary Anning, and probably played a part in introducing her to the wealthy academic gentlemen who visited Lyme. Elizabeth Philpot was probably the keenest collector of the three. Their collection is now on in the Oxford University Museum. The house is set well back from the sea front, and most of the walk is uphill!
Mary’s grave. Mary Anning and her brother Joseph Anning are buried together in the churchyard of St Michael's Church in Lyme Regis, only a short distance from the museum. The window overlooking the grave was put in place to honour Mary Anning in 1850, three years after she died. If you go in the museum you can get a better view of the window, and will see Mary's name at the bottom. On a sunny day you will get a nice picture with light coming through the glass. The window sadly does not depict plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs, but instead acts of mercy and charity. Mary Anning was widely regarded as a kindly woman. To the right of the window is a display panel about Mary Anning.
Dinosaurland is a private museum in Lyme Regis, and well worth a visit. It has displays on geology and natural history. The very impressive building is also well worth seeing. It was built in the 1750’s, and originally it was a congregationalist chapel. This is the church Mary Anning attended when she was young, and is probably where she learned to read and write. Probably the first piece of written material Mary Anning owned was a chapel pamphlet encouraging chapel members to take an interest in the new science of geology. Something Mary Anning clearly took to heart. Details about Dinosaurland can again be found on their website.
Mary Anning statue. This recently erected statue is a very short walk along the sea front to the east of Lyme Regis Museum. Hidden on the statue are many ammonites, this can keep children entertained while you admire the view along the Dorset coast. The statue was campaigned for by (then) 11-year old Evie and her mother, who founded Mary Anning Rocks. This duo inspired an enormous crowdfunding effort to celebrate Mary Anning.
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Just around the corner from the statue is Church Cliff, now largely obscured by a seawall. The was the site of Joseph Anning and Mary Anning's discovery of a large ichthyosaur in 1811. A cast of the skull can be seen in Lyme Regis museum.
At Fossilwise, we run Mary Anning Town Walks visiting many of the sites that formed part of Mary Anning's story. We run these when the tide is in, so you can often book a fossil walk on the same day!