The Etches Collection

What The Etches Collection does

The Etches Collection is a registered charity (No. 1106638) operating as The Kimmeridge Trust from a purpose-built, eco-friendly museum in Kimmeridge, Dorset, on the Jurassic Coast UNESCO World Heritage Site. Founded in 2016 by Steve Etches MBE, the museum houses his 40-year personal collection of over 2,600 Jurassic marine fossils from the Kimmeridgian stage (~157 million years ago), including the Guinness World Record-holding most complete Pliosaurus skull. The institution is nationally accredited and Arts Council England Designated (2021), supported by a trustee board that includes former Financial Times editor and British Museum chair Sir Richard Lambert.

The core product is a physical museum experience with interactive CGI screens, hands-on exhibits, and an in-house augmented-reality tool, PalaeoGo, developed with Bournemouth University using computer vision to overlay 3D prehistoric creatures on fossils through iPads. Complementary digital and service products include Etches Online (a GBP 4.99/month subscription for virtual museum content and scientific articles), a public online collection database, an educational visits programme (GBP 7/child for schools), venue hire, gift shop e-commerce, and Dr Etches's paid consulting, tours, and filming/lecturing services. Operational funding comes from heritage grants (Heritage Lottery Fund, plus eight named charitable trusts), donations through JustGiving and other platforms (including a GB Pounds 559,124+ active Pliosaur excavation campaign), legacy gifts, and earned revenue across admissions, retail, venue, and subscription lines.

Commercial and research activity is anchored by partnerships with the University of Bristol Palaeobiology Group (Scientist in Residence Dr Judyth Sassoon; co-produced "Understanding Pliosaurs" podcast), Ruskin Mill Trust (SEND education), and tourism partners across cruise and coach group bookings, dementia support groups, and geological societies. Recent extensions include a 2-year loan of the Allosaurus skeleton "Big Sara" from the Richmond Group (from Feb 2026) and a tri-institution Children's Fossil Competition 2026 with Lyme Regis Museum and Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre.

Name

The Etches Collection

Legal name

The Kimmeridge Trust

Website

https://theetchescollection.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Etches Collection is a UK registered charity operating a Jurassic Coast museum in Kimmeridge, Dorset, founded in 2016 around Steve Etches MBE's 2,600-specimen fossil collection, serving families, school groups, scientific societies, and tourists through ticketed admission, educational visits, digital subscriptions, venue hire, and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Natural History Museum

NAICS

Museums (712110), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192)

akta.pro primary industry

Archives, Special Collections & Preservation Operations (Rare Materials, Conservation) (EDAEAGAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Specialty Physical Artifact Storage (Museum Collections, Historical Documents, Rare Materials) (TLALALAJ)

Keywords

• Natural history museum
• Jurassic marine fossils
• Palaeontology education
• Museum venue hire
• Fossil collection tours

Headquarters

HQ city

Kimmeridge

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Museum Admission Tickets: Visitors pay admission fees for entry to the museum. Adults £9.50, Children (5-16) £4.75, Family tickets available. Ticket includes 12 months free re-admission.
2. Gift Shop Sales: On-site retail shop selling fossils, toys, educational items, snacks, and cold drinks. Also available online through separate shop website.
3. Donations and Fundraising: Charitable donations accepted through various platforms including JustGiving, National Funding Scheme, PayPal, and Crowdfunder. Also receives donations for specific projects like the Pliosaur excavation (£559,124 raised so far).
4. Etches Online Digital Subscription: Monthly or annual subscription providing virtual access to the museum including blog posts, video access to workshops, scientific articles, and behind-the-scenes content. Priced at £4.99/month or £54.99/year.
5. Venue Hire: Multi-purpose space available for functions, events, corporate retreats, meetings, birthdays, and educational events. Features south-facing covered balcony with views of Kimmeridge bay.
6. Filming and Consulting: Filming fees charged for shoots at the museum. Steve Etches available for consulting, talks, and tours of the collection.
7. Legacy Gifts: Charitable bequests accepted through wills including pecuniary legacies, residuary legacies, and specific legacies of property or shares.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Etches Collection is a purpose-built museum of Jurassic marine life in Kimmeridge, Dorset, housing over 2,600 fossils from the Kimmeridgian stage of the Upper Jurassic period. It operates as a charitable trust offering physical museum admission, a digital subscription (Etches Online), an AR app (PalaeoGo), educational school visits, venue hire, and consulting/filming services.

Product overview

The Etches Collection is a single-museum organization (The Kimmeridge Trust) operating as a Museum of Jurassic Marine Life in Kimmeridge, Dorset. The core offering is the physical museum experience housing over 2600 fossils from the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridgian period. Digital offerings include Etches Online (a £4.99/month subscription providing virtual museum access with blog posts, videos, and scientific articles) and PalaeoGo (a free AR app developed with Bournemouth University enabling 3D creature visualization through iPads). Additional revenue-generating services include venue hire, consulting/tours with Dr Steve Etches, image licensing, and an online shop.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Etches Collection Museum A purpose-built museum of Jurassic marine life housing over 2,600 fossils from the Kimmeridgian stage of the Upper Jurassic period, featuring hands-on exhibits, CGI screens depicting Jurassic seas, and guided tours. Open 10am-5pm daily with annual pass offering free return visits for a year.
• Etches Online Digital Subscription Monthly or annual digital subscription providing exclusive virtual access to the museum, including blog posts from Dr Steve Etches MBE, video access to workshop and reserve collection, scientific articles and papers, and access to online archives. Priced at £4.99/month or £54.99/year.
• PalaeoGo AR App Augmented reality application that enables visitors to view 3D virtual dinosaurs and marine reptiles through iPad cameras positioned above real fossil specimens. Includes educational questions and selfie functionality, available free via loaner iPads at the museum.
• Educational Visits Programme Curriculum-aligned educational programmes for schools featuring interactive core lessons (e.g. Jurassic Coast and Mary Anning), hands-on activities including Design-O-Saur competitions and fossil microscopy, museum tours, and optional Kimmeridge Bay visits. Primary school visits cost £7 per child with teachers and assistants admitted free.
• Venue Hire Multi-purpose event space available for functions, meetings, corporate retreats, birthdays, health and wellbeing events, and educational events. Features a south-facing covered balcony with views of Kimmeridge bay, guided museum tours, and talks by Dr Steve Etches.
• Consulting Services Consultancy services led by Dr Steve Etches MBE covering Kimmeridge Clay geology, fossil preparation and conservation, and Earth sciences. Includes guided tours of the collection, after-dinner speaking, advisory services, and lectures at events including Geoliteracy events, Chalk Valley History Festival, and New Scientist Jurassic Coast weekends.
• Image Library & Filming High-quality TIF format photographic image library of specimens and museum spaces available for purchase. Filming services available by the hour with rates based on shoot size. Dr Steve Etches MBE available for interviews and filming of collection specimens.
• Online Collection Database
• Museum Shop Retail shop selling fossils, toys, educational items, snacks and cold drinks. Available both at the museum and online. Volunteers receive 15% discount on all shop and event purchases.

Quantifiable outcome

• TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence 2018 & 2019
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

AI capability3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of Bristol Palaeobiology GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Dr Judyth Sassoon from the University of Bristol Palaeobiology Group for studying and formally identifying the giant pliosaur skull. Dr Sassoon serves as Scientist in Residence and hosts the Understanding Pliosaurs podcast series.
• Ruskin Mill TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational charity applying traditional crafts and biodynamic farming methods to support young people with special educational needs. Collaboration to develop and extend palaeontological research, teaching, and SEND education programmes using fossils and geology.
• Bournemouth UniversitycoreTechnology or IntegrationFunded the PalaeoGo augmented reality app through Bournemouth University's Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF). The app demonstrates how AR can be used as an educational tool at natural history museums.
• Richmond GroupcoreOthersLoan of 'Big Sara', an Allosaurus skeleton spanning 10 metres with approximately 70% original bones intact. On loan for 2 years from February 2026, making it one of the most complete Allosaurus skeletons in the world.
• GESGB (Geoscience Energy Society of Great Britain)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a key supporter. Steve has hosted tours for PESGB groups.
• Lyme Regis MuseumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Children's Fossil Competition 2026, a collaborative effort between three Jurassic Coast institutions.
• Charmouth Heritage Coast CentreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Children's Fossil Competition 2026, a collaborative effort between three Jurassic Coast institutions.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Bridport Museum: A small local history museum in Bridport, Dorset, covering the surrounding West Dorset area. Comparable as a small, volunteer-supported regional museum relying on tourism and educational visits within the same Dorset visitor economy.
• Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre: A fossil-focused visitor centre on the Jurassic Coast at Charmouth, Dorset, managed by the Jurassic Coast Trust. It competes for the same fossil-hunting family tourist segment and is a co-partner with The Etches Collection on the Children's Fossil Competition 2026.
• Swanage Museum: A small local museum in Swanage, on the eastern end of the Jurassic Coast in Purbeck. It competes for the same South Dorset / Purbeck tourist segment and shares the rural-heritage-attraction operating model.
• Lyme Regis Museum: A small independent museum on the Jurassic Coast in Lyme Regis, Dorset. It overlaps directly with The Etches Collection in subject matter (local Jurassic paleontology, Mary Anning heritage) and audience (Jurassic Coast tourists, school groups), and is a formal partner in the Children's Fossil Competition 2026.
• Dinosaur Isle: A paleontology museum on the Isle of Wight dedicated to the dinosaurs and fossil reptiles of the Isle. It is the closest direct comparable in scale, visitor model and dinosaur/prehistoric marine reptile subject matter, though focused on a different geological formation.
• Dorset Museum & Art Gallery: The county museum for Dorset, located in Dorchester, with natural history, archaeology, and palaeontology collections covering the Jurassic Coast. It is a regional competitor for both tourist visitors and educational group bookings.

Broad incumbents

• Natural History Museum, London: The UK's flagship natural history museum, with vastly larger scale and free general admission. It anchors the broader category of UK natural history museums against which The Etches Collection positions its specialised Kimmeridge Clay focus.
• Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences: Cambridge University's earth sciences museum with extensive palaeontology collections. Comparable in offering geology and palaeontology education with academic partnership, but at a much larger institutional scale.
• Oxford University Museum of Natural History: A major university natural history museum with significant palaeontology displays. While not a direct regional competitor, it shares the educational, research-linked museum model and competes for school groups, researchers, and dinosaur-fossil enthusiasts nationally.

Others

• Jurassic Coast Trust: The charity that manages the Jurassic Coast UNESCO World Heritage Site and operates the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre. It is a destination-marketing partner and ecosystem coordinator rather than a competitor, but operates overlapping educational programming.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCCUGQckZqlp3o46eAkY_w1w
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-etches-collection

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Etches Collection