Museum Founders

Marie Stopes (1880-1958)

Like many pioneers of the time, Stopes’ life and scientific career was not without controversy. Although famed for her work on contraception and abortion, Stopes’ doctorate explored the topic of Jurassic Cycad plants. Her research led her to Dorset, where there is an abundance of fossilised cycads. Whilst in Dorset, Dr. Stopes made some renowned acquaintances, including Thomas Hardy. Stopes bought the old Higher Lighthouse in Portland, and helped to establish and curate a museum collection there, thus founding Portland Museum. 

The Philpott sisters

Elizabeth Philpot (1780-1857), and her sisters established a fossil collection from Lyme Regis and the surrounding area. During their lifetime, the collection was housed at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History but subsequently returned home to the Jurassic Coast when the Lyme Regis Museum was built in their honour by their nephew Thomas Philpot.