The Fossil Lady of Lyme set for St Mary’s House

This was the England into which Mary Anning was born - just two hundred years ago.

Then came the pioneering work of geologists, studying rocks and fossils. The accepted truths about the world were blown apart. Within a generation, it was proved that there had been a vast prehistoric age, when unimaginable monsters roamed the earth and swam in the seas.

Mary Anning played a key part in this extraordinary time. She discovered the first complete fossil of a prehistoric reptile in Great Britain - at the age of twelve. Throughout her life, she continued to make ground-breaking and spectacular discoveries.

In Alison Neil’s entertaining one-woman play ‘The Fossil Lady of Lyme’ to be held on Saturday September 20 at 3pm at St Mary’s House, Bramber, Mary Anning tells her fascinating story, and that of ‘the fine clever men of science’ who took most of the credit for her work. The tale of her life, her friendships, her struggle to make her mark (and put food on the table) is both amusing and moving.

And... by the end of the show, you will surely know the difference between an ichthyosaur and a plesiosaur!

Alison’s one-woman plays have been much admired as the critics have shown over the years: ‘Unmissable entertainment’, ‘spellbinding and hugely enjoyable’, ‘the quality and the writing are second to none’.

Tickets, price £25 including tea and cake, may be obtained from the box office at St Mary’s House, telephone 01903 816205, email [email protected], or visit the website www.stmarysbramber.co.uk.

Report and picture contributed by St Mary’s House.