Bridget Atkinson (née Maughan) (1732–1814) was an English farmer and shell collector who amassed a collection from around the world.

When her father died, her mother raised her and her sister Jenny in Kirkoswald[3] and she was educated at Mrs Paxton's Academy in Durham.

[1] On 7 January 1758, Bridget married George Atkinson (1730–81) of Temple Sowerby in secret, fearing her mother would disapprove.

George, like his father Matthew, began work as a tanner, and became a broker (what would later be called a bill-broker, dealing in bills of exchange); he was ultimately a government official, receiver-general for Cumberland and Westmorland.

[5] George's youngest brother was Richard Atkinson (1738–1785), Member of Parliament for New Romney, a slave-owner and a government contractor for rum who made a fortune.

[10][11] Her brother-in-law, sons, and grandchildren also sought shells when on journeys made whilst conducting colonial business for the East India Company or relating to family plantations in Jamaica.

Apart from a giant clam shell, the remains of Atkinson's collection were on long term loan to the Zoology department at Armstrong College, later part of Newcastle University.