THE work of an unheralded Victorian fossil hunter, who helped put Yorkshire's Dinosaur Coast on the map, is being celebrated by conservationists.

Charity PLACE said few people have even heard of Martin Simpson, despite him having spent 40 years braving howling winds making world first discoveries that have attracted hordes of visitors and global scientific interest to the region.

Born in Stainsacre, near Whitby in 1800, the charity said the eccentric geologist, who dressed in top hat and frock coat and carried a carpet bag and green whale bone umbrella while undertaking his work along the shore between Saltburn and Ravenscar, pushed back the boundaries of science.

Armed with a two-foot rule, pencil and notebook, he carried out a painstaking study of fossils contained in rock layers on the exposed coast and in one publication alone listed 200 ammonite species - extinct sea creatures dating back millions of years - of which 25 were new to science. His descriptions of these remain the standard template used for identification around the world.

While working unpaid for Whitby Museum as its curator, he produced major works, including A Monograph of the Ammonites of the Yorkshire Lias and A Guide to the Geology of the Yorkshire Coast, despite having limited means after losing his savings in a bank collapse in 1842.

Later, his failure to add figures to his descriptions led to a disregard of Mr Simpson's original work and new names being given to many species he had identified.

He reportedly died a poor, lonely and embittered man aged 92, hunched over his fossils.

At a PLACE conference at York St John University on October 3, North Yorkshire geologist Peter Robinson and his York-based colleague Dr Chris Hill will reveal details about Mr Simpson's work.

They will also shed light on two other giants North Yorkshire geology, fossil plant expert Thomas Harris, and William Smith, who published the first geological map of England.

“Simpson was made of the real stuff and bounced back repeatedly from setbacks,” said Mr Robinson. “At the time his colleagues regarded him as a genius and we can only imagine some of the terrible conditions he endured while making his discoveries dressed in full Victorian garb.”

The conference is open to the public and features an afternoon tour of the Yorkshire Museum's geological collections.

To book places, costing £20 for adults and £15 for concessions, email place@yorksj.ac.uk