Lyme Regis Museum is housed in an Edwardian listed building. The museum, which was purpose-built in 1900-01 by Thomas Philpot and designed by the architect George Vialls, sits on a cramped site in the town centre on the edge of the shore.
It is possibly the only museum in the country to have been created without a particular collection in mind. The building lay empty until the 1920s, when it was given to the Borough of Lyme and two rooms were opened, housing the collection of its first curator, Wyatt Wingrave. The collection then gradually grew with an eclectic range of objects focused on the geology of the coast.
The building is important architecturally, but faces many of the difficulties shared by other Victorian and Edwardian structures. Access to the first- and second-floor galleries are by a stone spiral staircase at the heart of the building. Galleries are small and crowded, and natural light is limited. These are the challenges facing the trustees in making the museum accessible to a 21st-century public.
As part of a redevelopment programme, the museum recently reopened with a new wing that has an improved reception area, a shop and an education room, together with toilets and a lift.
The work has also involved a completely refurbished geology gallery. The venue may be in a small seaside town but because of its geology collection and the town’s connection with Mary Anning, the fossil collector and paleontologist, it has worldwide importance.
Fossil focus
After going through the revamped reception area, visitors enter the older galleries on the ground floor. Displays here range from the early history of the town to its development as a seaside resort in the 18th and 19th centuries. Space is devoted to the various stages in the building of the Cobb – Lyme’s iconic harbour – and to famous visitors and residents, including the glass engraver Laurence Whistler, Thomas Coram, the great champion of homeless children, and the novelist Jane Austen. These displays are important because they set the context for the development of the fossil collection over the past 200 years. Not only does Lyme Regis sit at the heart of the Jurassic Coast, but the wealthy who visited the fashionable resort in the mid-19th century provided a market for the sale of fossils collected by Anning.
On reaching the first floor, visitors enter the new geology gallery. What is excellent about this is that the layout is true to the original design of the building and echoes the older displays downstairs. Forty-eight drawers house a wealth of information, including interactive puzzles and video sequences. There is also a searchable catalogue of all the fossils held in the venue and other museums along the Jurassic Coast. In total, there are some 300 fossils on display, including that of the largest found on the Jurassic Coast – the Bluefin Ichthyosaur. Alongside this is a cast of another fossil and what is claimed to be the world’s largest Lego model of the ancient creature.
Another significant display tells the story of Anning, who started collecting fossils along the coast around Lyme Regis in 1811 and opened a shop selling them in 1820. Her importance to the subject is demonstrated by the fact that several of the fossils she found are in the collection of London’s Natural History Museum. The display contains what was once thought to be Anning’s hammer and trowel – now proved to be a myth – as well as her commonplace book and geology reference book.
Anning is not the only fossil hunter to be associated with Lyme Regis and the gallery tells the story of later collectors too. Of vital importance is a small panel setting out a code for fossil collectors – I thought this could have been given greater prominence in the displays.
Although fossils dominate this gallery they are not its only subject. Lyme Regis sits between two important geological features – the major landslips at Bindon and Whitlands. Contemporary illustrations show the scale of these, as do models and explanatory panels.
A loo with a view
An upper gallery at the top of the central circular part of the original building contains information about the postwar development of Lyme Regis and the railway that used to bring visitors to the resort. There is also a space for temporary exhibitions. A small gallery leads visitors from the geology gallery past new toilets – including one with probably the finest view of any museum lavatory in the country – into an education room. When not in use by school groups and meetings, this will provide visitors with a panoramic view of the Dorset coastline, from the Cobb to the west and as far as the Isle of Portland to the east.
Educational toys in the room include a puppet theatre with Anning as the main character, models of Lyme harbour and a puzzle in the shape of an ammonite. A video microscope enables visitors to examine a selection of fossils in detail.
Stairs and a lift then take visitors to the shop, which holds an attractive stock of items relating to Anning, the seaside and the geology of the area.
The exterior design of the extension, which has been added on the seaward side of the building, has caused controversy, having been nominated for the Carbuncle Cup, which is awarded to the worst architectural design of the year. The extension is covered in zinc to protect it from the weather – storm waves have reached the museum on occasion – and is certainly uncompromisingly contemporary. Although the addition is not entirely at home with the red brick of the original Edwardian building when seen from the side, it does sit comfortably in the landscape when viewed from the seaward position.
Taken as a whole and given the difficulties faced by the architect and designers, the work that has been done in the first of two stages of redevelopment has maintained the integrity of this museum, which has worldwide significance.
Peter Mason is a local historian and writer on culture
Main funders Heritage Lottery Fund; Wolfson Foundation; Fine Family Foundation; Monument Trust; Dorset County Council; Friends of Lyme Regis Museum; Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership; Foyle Foundation; West Dorset District Council; Arts Council England
Architect Architecton
Main contractor Skinner Construction
Project management Currie & Brown
Design Smith and Jones
AV design Black Box
Lighting Smith and Jones
Display cases Click Netherfield
Admission Adult £4.95; Children under 18 Free; Over 60s £4.45; Students £2.50
It is possibly the only museum in the country to have been created without a particular collection in mind. The building lay empty until the 1920s, when it was given to the Borough of Lyme and two rooms were opened, housing the collection of its first curator, Wyatt Wingrave. The collection then gradually grew with an eclectic range of objects focused on the geology of the coast.
The building is important architecturally, but faces many of the difficulties shared by other Victorian and Edwardian structures. Access to the first- and second-floor galleries are by a stone spiral staircase at the heart of the building. Galleries are small and crowded, and natural light is limited. These are the challenges facing the trustees in making the museum accessible to a 21st-century public.
As part of a redevelopment programme, the museum recently reopened with a new wing that has an improved reception area, a shop and an education room, together with toilets and a lift.
The work has also involved a completely refurbished geology gallery. The venue may be in a small seaside town but because of its geology collection and the town’s connection with Mary Anning, the fossil collector and paleontologist, it has worldwide importance.
Fossil focus
After going through the revamped reception area, visitors enter the older galleries on the ground floor. Displays here range from the early history of the town to its development as a seaside resort in the 18th and 19th centuries. Space is devoted to the various stages in the building of the Cobb – Lyme’s iconic harbour – and to famous visitors and residents, including the glass engraver Laurence Whistler, Thomas Coram, the great champion of homeless children, and the novelist Jane Austen. These displays are important because they set the context for the development of the fossil collection over the past 200 years. Not only does Lyme Regis sit at the heart of the Jurassic Coast, but the wealthy who visited the fashionable resort in the mid-19th century provided a market for the sale of fossils collected by Anning.
On reaching the first floor, visitors enter the new geology gallery. What is excellent about this is that the layout is true to the original design of the building and echoes the older displays downstairs. Forty-eight drawers house a wealth of information, including interactive puzzles and video sequences. There is also a searchable catalogue of all the fossils held in the venue and other museums along the Jurassic Coast. In total, there are some 300 fossils on display, including that of the largest found on the Jurassic Coast – the Bluefin Ichthyosaur. Alongside this is a cast of another fossil and what is claimed to be the world’s largest Lego model of the ancient creature.
Another significant display tells the story of Anning, who started collecting fossils along the coast around Lyme Regis in 1811 and opened a shop selling them in 1820. Her importance to the subject is demonstrated by the fact that several of the fossils she found are in the collection of London’s Natural History Museum. The display contains what was once thought to be Anning’s hammer and trowel – now proved to be a myth – as well as her commonplace book and geology reference book.
Anning is not the only fossil hunter to be associated with Lyme Regis and the gallery tells the story of later collectors too. Of vital importance is a small panel setting out a code for fossil collectors – I thought this could have been given greater prominence in the displays.
Although fossils dominate this gallery they are not its only subject. Lyme Regis sits between two important geological features – the major landslips at Bindon and Whitlands. Contemporary illustrations show the scale of these, as do models and explanatory panels.
A loo with a view
An upper gallery at the top of the central circular part of the original building contains information about the postwar development of Lyme Regis and the railway that used to bring visitors to the resort. There is also a space for temporary exhibitions. A small gallery leads visitors from the geology gallery past new toilets – including one with probably the finest view of any museum lavatory in the country – into an education room. When not in use by school groups and meetings, this will provide visitors with a panoramic view of the Dorset coastline, from the Cobb to the west and as far as the Isle of Portland to the east.
Educational toys in the room include a puppet theatre with Anning as the main character, models of Lyme harbour and a puzzle in the shape of an ammonite. A video microscope enables visitors to examine a selection of fossils in detail.
Stairs and a lift then take visitors to the shop, which holds an attractive stock of items relating to Anning, the seaside and the geology of the area.
The exterior design of the extension, which has been added on the seaward side of the building, has caused controversy, having been nominated for the Carbuncle Cup, which is awarded to the worst architectural design of the year. The extension is covered in zinc to protect it from the weather – storm waves have reached the museum on occasion – and is certainly uncompromisingly contemporary. Although the addition is not entirely at home with the red brick of the original Edwardian building when seen from the side, it does sit comfortably in the landscape when viewed from the seaward position.
Taken as a whole and given the difficulties faced by the architect and designers, the work that has been done in the first of two stages of redevelopment has maintained the integrity of this museum, which has worldwide significance.
Peter Mason is a local historian and writer on culture
Project data
Cost £1.4mMain funders Heritage Lottery Fund; Wolfson Foundation; Fine Family Foundation; Monument Trust; Dorset County Council; Friends of Lyme Regis Museum; Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership; Foyle Foundation; West Dorset District Council; Arts Council England
Architect Architecton
Main contractor Skinner Construction
Project management Currie & Brown
Design Smith and Jones
AV design Black Box
Lighting Smith and Jones
Display cases Click Netherfield
Admission Adult £4.95; Children under 18 Free; Over 60s £4.45; Students £2.50