The Statue of Mary Anning is a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

sculpture of the

paleontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

Mary Anning Mary Anning (21 May 1799 – 9 March 1847) was an English fossil collector, dealer, and palaeontologist who became known around the world for the discoveries she made in Jurassic marine fossil beds in the cliffs along the English Channel ...

Lyme Regis Lyme Regis is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset–Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and beaches on the Herita ...

Inception and campaign

In August 2018, a campaign called "''Mary Anning Rocks''" was formed by an 11-year-old school girl from Dorset, Evie Swire, supported by her mother Anya Pearson. The campaign, in promoting a monument to a 19th century women scientist, aimed to highlight the bias in the number of UK statues of men rather than women (more than 85% men). Prior to the erection of Mary's statue in May 2022, there were three other statues to a woman in the Southwest of England; the 2019 statue of

Nancy Astor Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor, Viscountess Astor, (19 May 1879 – 2 May 1964) was an American-born British politician who was the first woman seated as a Member of Parliament (MP), serving from 1919 to 1945. Astor's first husband was America ...

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

, and the 1888 Statue of Queen Victoria in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

and the 1902 Statue of Queen Victoria in Weymouth. Plans for launching the crowdfunding part of the campaign in May 2020 were placed on hold due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in England The COVID-19 pandemic was first confirmed to have spread to England with two cases among Chinese nationals staying in a hotel in York on 31 January 2020. The two main public bodies responsible for health in England are NHS England and Public ...

, with the Mary Anning Rocks group selling t-shirts instead. In November 2020 the delayed public crowdfunding campaign was launched to raise the money to commission a statue of Mary Anning for her home town of Lyme Regis. Patrons and supporters of the campaign include Professor Alice Roberts,

Sir David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural histor ...

and novelist

Tracy Chevalier Tracy Rose Chevalier (born 19 October 1962) is an American-British novelist. She is best known for her second novel, '' Girl with a Pearl Earring'', which was adapted as a 2003 film starring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth. Personal backgr ...

The statue

In January 2021 the campaign had raised over £70,000, enough for the sculpture to be produced by sculptor Denise Dutton. She produced a

maquette A ''maquette'' (French word for scale model, sometimes referred to by the Italian names ''plastico'' or ''modello'') is a scale model or rough draft of an unfinished sculpture. An equivalent term is ''bozzetto'', from the Italian word for "sketc ...

of the piece, which was publicly displayed at the Marine Theatre in Lyme Regis on 22 May 2021, Anning's 222nd Birthday. Planning permission for the statue, at a site overlooking Black Ven (where Mary made many of her discoveries), was lodged in November 2021 and granted by Dorset Council in January 2022. The site is at the junction of Long Entry and Gun Cliff Walk in Lyme Regis. File:Head on view of the statue of Mary Anning.jpg, Front view File:Mary Anning statue detail.jpg, Detail File:'Mary Anning Rocks' campaign logo.jpg, Mary Anning Rocks campaign logo File:Mary Anning statue inscription.jpg, Inscription

Unveiling

The statue was publicly unveiled by Evie Swire and Alice Roberts on 21 May 2022, the 223rd anniversary of Anning's birth. The event was attended by hundreds of supporters including

Hugh Torrens Hugh Simon Torrens (born 1940) is a British historian of geology and paleontology, and Emeritus Professor of History of Science and Technology at Keele University. Torrens received a bachelor's degree from the University of Oxford and a PhD from ...

, Anjana Khatwa, Dean Lomax, and Tori Herridge. The actress

Lizzie Hopley Elizabeth Hopley is a British actress and writer. She has appeared in several audio plays based on the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Her first appearance was as the Eighth Doctor’s companion Gemma Griffin in ''Terror F ...

performed as Mary Anning.

References

External links

{{Portal, Visual arts
Video of the unveiling of the statue on 22 May 2022
2022 establishments in England 2022 sculptures Bronze sculptures in England History of Dorset Lyme Regis Monuments and memorials in England Outdoor sculptures in England Sculptures of women in the United Kingdom Statues in England