The Palaeontology collection
Palaeontology is the study of fossil plants, animals and their activities. The Manchester Museum has a large collection of around 100,000 fossils ranging from fossil aglae from the dawn of life billions of years ago, to ferns, mammoths and dinosaurs.
The collection contains a large number of type and figured specimens.
Particularly important parts of the collection are:
- William Boyd-Dawkins collection of British cave fossils from Creswell Crags, Windy Knoll in Derbyshire and other caves.
- Plant and invertebrate fossils from the Carboniferous , collected by W.C. Williamson, J. Wilfred Jackson, G. Wild, and R.M.C.Eagar .
- Reptile footprints from the Triassic of Merseyside and Cheshire.
- Fossil plants and fishes from the Old Red Sandstone collected by G.H. Hickling and D.M.S. Watson
- Invertebrate fossils of the Lower Palaeozoic of the Midlands and Wales collected by D. Homfray
Many of the best specimens are on display in the fossils gallery. The rest of the collection and archive is cared for behind the scenes and is available for study on request. We have over 500 type fossils in the collection, which were the first of their kind to be described.
The palaeontology collection was one of the founding collections of Manchester Museum. When the museum opened in 1885, the fossils were one of the main collections on display. The first elements of the palaeontology collections were assembled by the Manchester Society of Natural History, which formed in 1821. Additional material was added in 1850 from the collections of the Manchester Geological and Mining Society.
We have developed a workshop for A-level geology students, which uses a wide range of spectacular fossils from the collection. The day workshop can be booked through the Post 16 Learning page.
Hear more about our collection of Ice Age cave material with David Gelsthorpe in conversation with Roger Jacobi of The British Museum.
- Keep up with our Curator of Palaeontology, David Gelsthorpe on his Palaeontology Blog
