This plaque is not part of the Fossil Sculpture Trail. It was made to celebrate the finding of the very complete remains of a fossilised plesiosaur in 1851 and to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The find was in one of Barrow's many lime quarries. Three plaques were made by John Ellis Co.Two wereplaced on the monument on Jerusalem Island at junction of South Street and High street. The other is on the club house of Barrow Town Cricket Club, off Nottingham Road.
Plesiosaurs were huge reptiles that lived in the warms seas that covered Barrow between 180 and 200 million years ago. This particular plesiosaur was called Rhomaleosaurus megacephalus. It had a short body, a long neck and four strong flippers used to "row" itself through the water. It probably hunted its prey rather like a killer whale does today.
A life sized model of this find is laid into the floor in Charnwood Museum. It is well worth a visit.
Barrow upon Soar has adopted the Kipper as its village emblem and it features on the Parish Council offices and is used all over the village as well as in many local publications.
From 1840 to 1900 the village must have been a most exciting time for discoveries. Numerous large fossils were found when digging for limestone including more plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs (fossil fish).Private collections were soon established and many items found their way to the Natural History Museum in Kensington, London, several of which are still on view to the public today. William Lee was the principal collector of Barrow's fossils. He is buried in the churchyard. His collection of the Jurassic fossils was sold on his death with the bulk of the collection going to Dublin Museum.
The original is in the New Walk Museum, Leicester and a replica is in Charnwood Museum, Loughborough. When the fossil was found, it was classified as Plesiosaurus macrocephalus. It has since been reclassified as Rhomaleosaurus megacephalus (meaning ‘strong lizard with a big head’) and is sometimes, also, referred to as a pliosaur because of its short neck and large head. Very confusing.