The Etches Collection Museum Elects New Chairman for Board of Trustees

The Kimmeridge Trust the overarching charity that holds the mission for The Etches Collection – Museum of Jurassic Marine Life in Kimmeridge, Dorset welcomes Penelope, Viscountess Cobham, CBE as the new chairman of its Board of Trustees. Lady Cobham was formally voted onto the Board of the Trust and subsequently as it’s chairman on Saturday, January 22, 2022. Both Members and Trustees voted unanimously to introduce an exceptionally qualified person to lead the Kimmeridge Trust.

Dr. Steve Etches, MBE, Museum Founder and Head of Collections said of the appointment “This is a major milestone for the museum, and I am absolutely delighted that we have such a strong, well-respected leader to guide our endeavours moving forward. Lady Cobham has an enormous wealth of knowledge, expertise, and leadership from which the museum will truly benefit. Not only does her experience match the museums ambitions, but she will also work tirelessly with the enthusiastic team we have in place at the museum to make it even more successful.”

Lady Cobham who was awarded a CBE for Services to Tourism in 2014, comes to the Board of Trustees for the museum with an impressive curriculum vitae. Over 20 years she developed and grew an impressive functions and hospitality business at her then Grade I Georgian home, Hagley Hall in the West Midlands. Lady Cobham has held very successful stints as the deputy Chair for VisitBritain and until recently Chair of VisitEngland. Along with a spell in broadcasting as the chair of Heart Radio in the West Midlands and on the board of Heart London too.

Lady Cobham’s public sector experience comes in a myriad of high-profile appointments to internationally significant historical landmark institutions such as the Victoria & Albert Museum, Historic Royal Palaces, and the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.  She served as the executive chair of the British Casino Association for nearly a decade, where she successfully guided the industry through the enactment of the 2005 Gambling Act. Upon her election the Kimmeridge Trust’s board and subsequently Chairman, Lady Cobham said “As VisitEngland chairman and frequent visitor to the Isle of Purbeck, I was excited and inspired in 2016 by the opening of The Etches Collection. VisitEngland were delighted to contribute towards the considerable media coverage of this globally important collection of fossils, both huge and small from the Kimmeridgian seas off the Dorset Jurassic coast some 150 million years ago.  I am honoured to be elected chairman and thrilled to be working with the Trustees and executive team on the next stage of presenting the Collection to a myriad of audiences. As I know only too well, the last two years have been truly tough for the whole of the museum sector, so we shall be working hard to ensure a sustainable future for The Etches Collection in Kimmeridge.”

Penelope, Viscountess Cobham CBE - the new Chairman of The Kimmeridge Trust