Buxton Museum holds the largest surviving group of original papers of Sir William Boyd Dawkins (1837-1929) and nearly the entire body of papers of his student Dr. J. Wilfred Jackson (1880-1978). Both scientists specialised in the study of Quaternary mammalian remains, especially from cave sites, and made many important and fundamental contributions in these fields in Somerset. Dawkins’ very first excavations were in Mendip caves and he also made important contributions early in his career to the geology and palaeontology of the Rhaetic of Somerset. This paper provides a brief outline of the scope and content of the original letters, manuscripts, annotated proofs, drawings and photographs relating to Somerset geology and archaeology held in Buxton Museum.