Fossils

An internationally important collection of Jurassic fossils collected by Alfred Gillett, a member of the Clark family, and members of the 19^th century Somerset Archaeological Society.

Alfred Gillett Fossil Collector

The Trust is named after Alfred Gillett (1814-1904), a cousin of the founders of C & J Clark Ltd. Alfred Gillett retired to Overleigh House in Street where he researched and excavated the ichthyosaur fossils for which Street is internationally renowned.

Marine Fossils

The collections of marine reptiles including examples recently discovered to be new species. Scientific evaluation of some specimens, notably by Judy Massare and Dean Lomax identified species including I. somerstensis and I. larkini.

Jurassic sea life

A wide range of fossilised sea life including ammonites – extinct shelled cephalopods and plant life are on display in the museum, with further examples in the archive.

Pioneering Fossil Collectors

Several pioneering palaeontologists were attracted to the village of Street in mid-Somerset during the 19th and 20th centuries because of the marine reptile fossils found in the quarries there. These included Henry De La Beche (1796-1855) and William Daniel Conybeare (1787-1857). Thomas Clark (1792-1864) collected ichthyosaur and plesiosaur specimens for Conybeare to study. Another local collector, the Rev. Thomas Hawkins (1810-1889), also made extensive use of the Street quarries.

In the archive