A comprehensive summary of geological collections in the UK is located at: http://www.geocurator.org/colls/colls.htm
Bristol & South west
Collections Visitations at The University of Bristol Geological Museum
The University of Bristol has a Geological Museum, with collections of interest to vertebrate paleontologists. With the entire vertebrate paleontology staff involved with the SVP Annual Meeting, the Vertebrate Paleontology collection will only be available on a very limited basis during the meeting. Immediately before and after the meeting (Sep. 23-26), the department will do its best to accommodate after hours and Sunday access for those attendees on a tight schedule. Anyone who wishes to use the Vertebrate Paleontology collections should contact the curator, Dr Liz Loeffler (liz.loeffler@bristol.ac.uk) before Sept. 1, to make arrangements.
Department of Earth Sciences
University of Bristol
Bristol
BS8 1RJ
Website: http://www.gly.bris.ac.uk/museum/index.html
Contact: liz.loeffler@bristol.ac.uk
Collections include Triassic fissure faunas and Jurassic marine reptiles.
Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery
Clifton
Bristol
BS8 1RL
Tel: 0117 922 3571
Fax: 0117 922 2047
Website: http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/content/Leisure-Culture/Museums-Galleries/bristols-city-museum---art-gallery.en
Contact: Ray.Barnett@bristol.gov.uk
Collections include Carboniferous, Triassic and Jurassic vertebrates
Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution Trustees
16-18 Queen Square,
Bath,
Bath & NES,
BA1 2HN
Website: http://www.brlsi.org/index.html
Contact: curator@brlsi.org
By Car from Bristol to Bath: 13 miles – about 35 mins; also by train.
Somerset County Museum
Taunton Castle,
Castle Green,
Taunton,
Somerset
TA1 4AA.
Tel: 01823 320200;
Website: http://www.somerset.gov.uk/somerset/culturecommunity/museums/
Contact: county-museums
@somerset.gov.uk
By Car from Bristol: 46 miles – about 55 mins; also by train.
The Museum in the Park
Stroud District Museum Service,
Stratford Park,
Stroud,
GL5 4AF
Website: http://www.museuminthepark.org.uk
Contact: admin@museuminthepark.org.uk
By Car from Bristol to Stroud: 32 miles – about 50 mins; also by train.
Fossil vertebrates include Middle Jurassic dinosaurs and microvertebrates.
Gloucester City Museum & Art Gallery
Brunswick Road
Gloucester
GL1 1HP
Tel: 01452 396868
Fax: 01452 330495
Website: http://www.gloucester.gov.uk/citymuseum
Contact: enviro@gloucester.gov.uk
By Car from Bristol to Gloucester: 42 miles – about 50 mins; also by train.
Fossil vertebrates include Middle Jurassic dinosaurs and microvertebrates.
The Dorset County Museum
High West Street
Dorchester
Dorset
DT1 1XA
Website: http://www.dorsetcountymuseum.org/index.htm
Contact: enquiries@dorsetcountymuseum.org
By Car from Bristol to Dorset: 60 miles – about 1 hour 30 mins
Collections include a wide range of fossils from the Triassic and Jurassic of Dorset.
Lyme Regis Museum
Bridge Street
Lyme Regis
DT7 3QA
Tel: 01297 443370
Website: http://www.lymeregismuseum.co.uk
Contact: info@lymeregismuseum.co.uk
By Car from Bristol to Lyme Regis: 70 miles – about 1hour 40 mins
An historical area, Lyme Regis museum is dedicated in part to Mary Anning, and her finds, including plesiosaurs.
Southampton City Council
Civic Centre,
Southampton,
SO14 7LY
Website: http://www.southampton.gov.uk/
Contact: museums@southampton.gov.uk
By Car from Bristol to Southampton: 105 miles – about 2 hours
Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery
Drake Circus
Plymouth
PL4 8AJ
Tel: 01752 304774
Fax: 01752 304775
Website: http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/museumpcmag.htm/
Contact: enquiries@plymouth.gov.uk
By Car from Bristol to Plymouth: 118 miles – 2 hours 15 mins
Over 100 years of active collecting means Plymouth’s collection is both large as well as widely ranging over a number of topics.
The Big Four
Natural History Museum (The)
Cromwell Rd
South Kensington
London
SW7 5BD
Tel: 0171 938 9555
Fax: 0171 938 9290
Website: http://www.nhm.ac.uk
Contact: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/contact-enquiries/forms/
Curator contacts
Fishes: Martha Richer m.richter@nhm.ac.uk or Zerina Johanson z.johanson@nhm.ac.uk
Reptiles (except crocodiles and pterosaurs), birds and amphibians: Sandra Chapman s.chapman@nhm.ac.uk
Crocodiles and pterosaurs: Lorna Steel l.steel@nhm.ac.uk
Mesozoic and Tertiary Mammals: Pip Brewer p.brewer@nhm.ac.uk
Quaternary mammals: Andy Currant a.currant@nhm.ac.uk
Oxford University Museum of Natural History
Parks Road
Oxford
OX1 3PW
Tel: 01865 272950
Fax: 01865 272970
Website: http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk
Contact: geology@oum.ox.ac.uk or zoology@oum.ox.ac.uk
By Car from Bristol to Oxford: 85 miles – about 1 hour 30 mins
Contains 350,000 specimens in the geology department. Other departments include entomology, mineralogy and zoology.
Sedgwick Museum of Geology
Department of Earth Sciences
Cambridge
CB2 3EQ
Tel: 01223 333456
Fax: 01223 333450
Website: http://www.esc.cam.ac.uk
Contact: sedgwickmuseum@esc.cam.ac.uk
By Car from Bristol to Cambridge: 184 miles – about 3 hours 10 mins
Collections include: dinosaurs and life in the Jurassic seas; Mesozoic fishes, reptiles.
University Museum of Zoology Cambridge
Downing Street,
Cambridge,
CB2 3EJ
Tel: 01223 336650
Fax: 01223 336679
Website: http://www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/museum/
Contact: umzc@zoo.cam.ac.uk
By Car from Bristol to Cambridge: 184 miles – about 3 hours 10 mins
London & South east
Portsmouth Natural History Museum
Website: http://www.portsmouthnaturalhistory.co.uk/
Contact: info@portsmouthnaturalhistory.co.uk
Dinosaur Isle
Culver Parade
Sandown
Isle of Wight
PO36 8QA
Tel: (01983) 404344
Fax: (01983) 407502
Website: http://www.dinosaurisle.com
Contact: stephen.hutt@iow.gov.uk
Displaying a large collection of fossils and dinosaurs, as well as life size reconstructions of many of the island’s dinosaur finds.
Maidstone Museum and Art Gallery
St Faith's Street
Maidstone
Kent
ME14 1LH
Tel: 01622 754497
Fax: 01622 602193
Website: http://www.museum.maidstone.gov.uk/
Contact: museum@maidstone.gov.uk
By Car from Bristol to Kent: 178 miles – about 3 hours
Collections: mainly Wealden dinosaurs and other vertebrates.
Booth Museum of Natural History
194 Dyke Road
Brighton
East Sussex
United Kingdom
BN1 5AA
40
Website: http://www.booth.virtualmuseum.info/
Contact: museums@brighton-hove.gov.uk
By Car from Bristol to Brighton: 166 miles – about 3 hours
Collections: mainly Wealden dinosaurs and other vertebrates.
Horniman Museum & Gardens
100 London Rd
Forest Hill
London
SE23 3PQ
Website: http://www.horniman.ac.uk
Contact: http://www.horniman.ac.uk/contact.php
By Car from Bristol to London: 119 miles – about 2 hours 15 mins
Castle Meadow
Norwich
Norfolk
NR1 3JU
Website: http://www.museums.norfolk.gov.uk
Contact: museums@norfolk.gov.uk
By Car from Bristol to Nowich: 229 miles – about 4 hours
Collections: mainly Pleistocene mammals.
Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Isle of Wight
National Museum Cardiff
Cathays Park
Cardiff
CF10 3NP
Tel: 029 2039 7951
Fax: 029 2057 3126
Website: http://www.museumwales.ac.uk
Contact: http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/enquiries/form/
By Car from Bristol to Cardiff: 44 miles – about 50 mins
Scotland (National Museums of)
Chambers St
Edinburgh
EH1 1JF
Tel: 0131 225 7534
Fax: 0131 220 4891
Website: http://www.nms.ac.uk
Contact: http://www.nms.ac.uk/about_us_contact.aspx
By Car from Bristol to Edinburgh: 373 miles – about 6 hours 30 mins
Has 3,000,000 specimens in total
Ulster Museum
Botanic Gardens
Belfast
Northern Ireland
BT9 5AB
Tel: 02890 383000
Fax: 02890 383103
Website: http://www.ulstermuseum.org.uk
Contact: http://www.ulstermuseum.org.uk/contact-us/our-details/
Showing exhibits from dinosaurs to giant ancient fish, Ulster has a large vertebrate palaeontology section.
Midlands & North
Lapworth Museum
School of Earth Sciences
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
Tel: 0121 414417
Fax: 0121 414397
Website: http://www.lapworth.bham.ac.uk/
Contact: lapworth@contacts.bham.ac.uk
By Car from Bristol to Birmingham: 92 miles – about 1 hour 40 mins
Its vertebrate collection contains 500 million year old fish, all the way through to 10,000-year-old mammals
St John's House Museum
St John's,
Warwick
CV34 4NF
Tel: 01926 412021/412132
Website: http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/museum
Contact: http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/web/corporate/webmailf.nsf/webmailnew?openform&~1~PageSpecific~2~Warwickshire+Museum~3~museum@warwickshire.gov.uk~4~http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/museum~5~Warwickshire+Museum~6~
By Car from Bristol to Warwick: 98 miles – about 1 hour 40 mins
Vertebrate fossils include Triassic reptiles and amphibians.
The Manchester Museum,
The University of Manchester,
Oxford Road,
Manchester
M13 9PL
Website: http://www.museum.manchester.ac.uk/
Contact: museum@manchester.ac.uk
By Car from Bristol to Manchester: 178 miles – about 3 hours
Liverpool Museum
William Brown Street
Liverpool
L3 8EN
Tel: 0151 478 4399
Fax: 0151 478 4390
Website: http://www.liverpoolmuseum.org.uk
Contact: http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/about/contact/ContactForm.aspx?EnquiryID=25
By Car from Bristol to Liverpool: 179 miles – about 3 hours 6 mins
Fossil vertebrates include extensive collections of Triassic footprints, dating from the 1830s.
Hancock Museum
Barras Bridge
Jesmond
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE2 4PT
Tel: 0191 222 7418
Fax: 0191 222 6753
Website: http://www.ncl.ac.uk/~nhancock/
Contact: http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/contact/
By Car from Bristol to Newcastle Upon Tyne: 300 miles – about 5 hours
Collections include Carboniferous tetrapods and fishes.