Dr Steve Etches: Plumbing the prehistoric depths of the Kimmeridge Clay

About this episode:

Dr Steve Etches MBE is a renowned fossil expert. His collection of over 2,000 pieces from the Kimmeridge Clay include remains of ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, pterosaurs and a whole host of Jurassic marine life. Once housed in his garage, the collection is now on display at the Etches Collection in Dorset. In this in-depth conversation, he describes how he stumbled across the world’s first ammonite eggs, shares how his discoveries still give him “that same childhood thrill” that he first experienced as a five-year-old, and explains how the centre, with 25,000 visitors a year, is as much about educating people about the past as it is preserving it.

David's thoughts:

Steve Etches’ wikipedia page lists him as an “English Plumber”. True to form, as I pulled up to the car park at quarter to ten on a particularly grizzly March morning, I saw a plumber’s work van with a plumber standing next to it, an open drain, and, showing the plumber what to do, Steve, standing up to his knees in the sewage system of the museum that holds his name.

I have very little to add…!

Listen to this episode; revel in the character that Steve is; and book time off work to head down to Kimmeridge as soon as possible! Steve and his legacy are awe-inspiring commodities of depth and fascination. It was such a pleasure to sit back and listen to Steve’s stories. A local legend with a national footprint.