The Etches Collection

The Etches Collection is an independent fossil museum located in the village of Kimmeridge, Dorset, England. It is based on the lifetime collection of Steve Etches, a fossil hunter for whom some of his finds have been named, from the local area on the Jurassic Coast, a SSSI and World Heritage Site, especially around Kimmeridge Bay and the Kimmeridge Ledges.

Building

The museum building was opened in 2016 at a cost of £5 million to house a collection of over 2,000 fossil specimens so that they would remain accessible beyond the lifetime of Steve Etches.

Collection

Etches had been collecting for over 30 years prior to the museum opening, and in that time he amassed a collection of fossils of international scientific importance that form the basis of the collection. The collection includes examples of ammonite eggs and fossils from the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation including Thalassodraco etchesi.