Hull Maritime Museum
Established	1912
Location	Kingston upon Hull
Type	History
Website	Hull Maritime Museum

The Hull Maritime Museum (grid reference TA09562880) is a museum in Kingston upon Hull (Hull), England, that explores the seafaring heritage of the city and its environs. The museum's stated mission is "[t]o preserve and make available the maritime history of Hull and east Yorkshire through artefacts and documents".^[1]

[edit] History and site

Detail of the Dock Offices building with Red Ensign flying

The museum, originally known as the Museum of Fisheries and Shipping, opened in 1912 in Pickering Park.^[2] It moved to its current location, the Dock Offices building, in 1974.^[3] The Dock Offices building is so-named as it is the former headquarters of the Hull Dock Office, which operated all docks in Hull until 1893.^[3] Built in 1872, it is a Grade II* listed building^[4] and a striking example of Victorian architecture.^[3] The building stands in Queen Victoria Square, opposite the Queen's Gardens, in Hull's city centre. Hull City Council currently operates and maintains the museum.^[3]

[edit] Exhibits and collections

The period of time covered by the exhibits extends back to the Bronze Age and through the Middle Ages, but the museum primarily concerns itself with Hull's maritime history from the nineteenth century onward.^[2] The museum's exhibits are arranged along the following primary themes:^[2][5]

[edit] Arctic whaling heritage

Several examples of scrimshaw art, from the collection of the Smithsonian Institution

The museum dedicates an entire gallery to Hull's whaling industry, which peaked in the early 19th century. Dozens of vessels ventured into the Arctic waters (particularly those around Greenland) during this period, and the gallery's collection of personal effects, shipboard items, models, and artwork (including the largest collection of scrimshaw in Europe)^[2] provides visitors a glimpse of this bygone era.

[edit] North Sea fishing industry

The city's fishing industry rose to prominence in the mid-19th century, and one gallery of the museum documents the history of the industry as it expanded from the North Sea into more northerly waters. This gallery makes use of models of the industry's various ocean-going vessels, from simple cobles to large trawlers^[2] such as the Arctic Corsair.

[edit] Maritime trade

Hull's tradition of ocean-going commerce dates from the Middle Ages and has historically targeted the nations of Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea. The Court Room in the Hull Docks building, once for use by the Hull Dock Company's shareholders and now the venue for temporary exhibitions, also pays hommage to Hull's commercial past and present. The room houses a frieze containing the coats of arms of the cities with which Hull has historically had trade relations.^[3]

[edit] Collections Online

The museum service launched its new collections website in 2008 to allow users to search the entire museum collections easily. The site includes thousands of images of the museum objects including its scrimshaw and hundreds of prints from the Maritime Museum's collections.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Hull Maritime Museum official website
• Images of England — details from listed building database (387758) - Dock Offices building, Kingston upon Hull

53°44′37.88″N 0°20′18.65″W / 53.7438556°N 0.3385139°W / 53.7438556; -0.3385139Coordinates: 53°44′37.88″N 0°20′18.65″W / 53.7438556°N 0.3385139°W / 53.7438556; -0.3385139