Hull: Yorkshire's Maritime City

Surveying at Hull Maritime Museum

Experts from TGA Consulting Engineers have been hard at work at Hull Maritime Museum as part of the plans for the proposed refurbishment of the building.

TGA  have worked closely with Purcell, our main design consultancy partner, on a number of occasions. Most notably on the environmental control of the Durham Cathedral exhibition spaces and the wider Durham Cathedral project.

They considered a number of aspects, such as the environmental controls that will be installed throughout the site. These controls are specifically designed to be sustainable with the least possible intrusion on the natural environment within the rooms and structure.

Urban Legends: Northern Lights

We can't say too much about this project being undertaken with our colleagues at Absolutely Cultured as it is intended to be a big surprise...

What we can say is that specialist scans of a number of ships' models that form part of the museum's extensive collection have been made. We can't wait to see how they are used as part of the Urban Legends: Northern Lights installation in Hull city centre taking place from tonight until Sunday 2 December, 5 - 10pm.

Outreach at the University of Hull

On Wednesday 21 November the team spent the day at the University of Hull chatting to students about the HYMC project and the volunteering opportunities that are available.

The response was fantastic (although the offer of a free cup of coffee undoubtedly helped)! 

Trawlermen of the Future...?

On Friday 9 November, a group of around 20 candidates for the East Coast Maritime Training's seamanship course attended an outreach session hosted by the HYMC team. ECMT, previously the Yorkshire & Humber Fishermen’s Training Association, deliver training in areas such as navigation, first aid at sea and health and safety.

These courses are aimed at new entrants to the fishing industry and are a mandatory requirement for all fishermen working aboard a commercial fishing vessel. As the project progresses we will be working closely with the ECMT team to support the training and development of our next generation of Hull fishermen.

To find out more about the work of ECMT click here

Portraits at Sea

Members of Hull's former Merchant marine assembled in the Court Room at Hull Maritime Museum on Friday 26 October for a private viewing and celebration of the wonderful Portraits at Sea exhibition by artist, Dan Llewelyn Hall.

The group, many of whom are the subjects of Dan's current work on display in Hull, met the Right Worshipful the Lord Mayor of Kingston Upon Hull, Councillor Peter Allen, a former merchant seaman.  

Community Dialogue Day

Around 60 delegates representing some 500 members of community and heritage groups across the city attended the Community Dialogue Day at the Ferens Art Gallery on Thursday 15 November. It is so important that the voices of those who play such an important role in promoting the rich maritime culture in the city and region are heard.

Many of these dedicated individuals and groups work incredibly hard on limited budgets to tell the story of their area of Hull's maritime past and it was a fascinating and enriching event that will be repeated regularly as we move forward with the project. The team would like to personally thank all of those who took part and we are looking forward to working with them as the project progresses.

Image of the Month

Whilst removing artefacts from the Arctic Corsair in preparation for her move, we came across a series of forgotten images that were taken during the vessel's earlier large scale conservation in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

This was the point at which the Corsair, having been purchased by Hull City Council, was dry docked and prepared for her new role as a museum ship.

We have now appointed consultants who will be working with the project team to deliver Hull: Yorkshire's Maritime City.

The second of our partners we would like to introduce is...

Beckett Rankine

Widely regarded as the leading, UK-owned, marine civil engineering consultancy, Beckett Rankine will oversee maritime engineering for the HYMC project.  Responsibilities will include overseeing restoration work on the Arctic Corsair, Spurn Lightship and at the North End Shipyard and we are extremely proud to be working with its industry experts.

Find out more

New lease of life for two historic cannons

A team of six volunteers, accompanied by the Conservation and Engagement Officer, have  spent around 60 hours conserving two cannons, dating back to 1798.

They have removed the old, degraded paint surface on the barrels and the carriages, filling any areas of wood loss on the carriages. These have then been thoroughly cleaned and degreased before new paint layers were applied.

The solid oak wheels of the carriages were filled as necessary before being coated in a protective oak varnish which will withstand the elements. 

Work is nearly complete and the cannons will again stand guard outside the Hull Maritime Museum in the spring.

Conservation of paintings

In order to display the many paintings that are currently in storage, more than 30 oil paintings in the maritime collection are currently scheduled for conservation with the specialist company, Critchlow & Kukkonen Limited, based in Sheffield having been awarded the tender.

Fifteen of the paintings travelled to Sheffield in November, being packed for transit by a specialist art handling firm.

Work will now commence on conserving these paintings with treatments including removal of old varnish, consolidation of flaking paint and repairs to canvas tears.

The frames of these paintings will be conserved separately and will shortly be transferred so conservation work on these can commence which will include cleaning of gilded surfaces and repairs to lost moulded decoration.

Object of the Month

Scrimshaw is the name given to a type of hand made craft created by carving the teeth and bones of whales and other marine mammals. The objects are largely the result of mariners being confronted with time to occupy at sea and access to a ready supply of materials. Sailing, especially whaling, involved long periods of time when there was nothing to do and so 'scrimshandering' (crafting scrimshaw) occupied the men and kept them out of trouble! The image seen here is carved sperm whale tooth and dates from the early nineteenth century.

This jolly sailor is waving the Royal Navy's flag from the ship Cornelia. The Cornelia wasn't around for very long. It was built in 1808 and was broken up six years later in 1814. The Cornelia was called a fifth rate ship. This was because it had 32 guns like the one the sailor is standing in front of. Sixth rate ships had less than 32 guns. A first rate ship naturally had the most guns, from 110 guns upwards. The flag the sailor is waving is known as the White Ensign. Three types of ensigns are used for British ships. In this period the white ensign signified the white squadron; there were also blue and red squadrons.

How to get involved

Over the last year we have been asking for people's views in a series of surveys via the Hull City Council and Hull Museums websites and social media, as well as the hull People's Panel. For us to tell the real story of the city's maritime past, present and future it is important that the people of Hull have their say on the way in which their history and heritage is preserved and presented. We will be carrying out further consultation with our community partners in the near future to ensure we capture a whole range of views and opinions.

To Join Hull People's Panel and have your say on a whole range of issues affecting your city and community click here.

Last chance to see Portraits at Sea exhibition

The characters and stories of Hull’s seafarers are brought to life. Portraits at Sea, an exhibition of 30 portraits depicting the men of Hull’s Merchant Navy, is at the Hull Maritime Museum in Queen Victoria Square.

Last year, Hull’s inaugural year as UK City of Culture, artist Dan Llywelyn Hall sat with the men who shaped the seafaring industry. He met both fishermen and merchant seamen to learn how the jobs changed as a response to challenging times faced by the city’s maritime community.

The exhibition is on display until Sunday 16 December.

A warm thank you to...

H:YMC would like to say thank you to Mike Fell, author of The Port of Hull and its Railways, for his very generous donation to the project. We launched Mike’s book at Hull Maritime Museum in June and Mike pledged any royalties he receives from the sale of the book to the project.

We’re extremely grateful for this very tangible expression of support. If you’d like to buy a copy of the book, you can do so by contacting Irwell Press here

If you’d like to make a donation in support of Hull: Yorkshire’s Maritime City, please contact Helen May, Fundraising Manager on 01482 613 227.

If would like to see our daily updates on events, exhibitions, and the interesting objects in our collections, follow us on Twitter or Facebook!

Simply click here for Twitter or here for Facebook or find us @HullMaritime (Twitter) or Hull Yorkshire's Maritime City (Facebook) to get involved