Hull: Yorkshire's Maritime City January newsletter

Reliving memories of the Arctic Corsair

On 3 December, we welcomed volunteers and staff from East Riding Archives' Heritage Lottery funded 'Trawling Through Time' project for guided tours of the Arctic Corsair. The project is based around cataloguing the archives of Cook, Welton & Gemmell.

Several of the volunteers worked for the shipyard, and one of them even sailed on board the Corsair during trials. The tours were led by members of STAND, ensuring that the event brought together people with different connections to the fishing past.

Despite the weather, everyone enjoyed recalling the hardships of a life on deck and discussing future plans for the ship's refurbishment. 

Arctic Corsair fishing nets to appear on Shakespeare play set

Some of the netting from the Arctic Corsair will appear on stage at Hull Truck Theatre and Northern Broadside in Newcastle as part of the upcoming Jack Lear production. The Shakespeare play is a gritty reworking of Shakespeare’s King Lear, set on the River Humber, with live music by award-winning English Folk Musician Eliza Carthy MBE.

The polypropylene sections of nets will form part of the set having been moved off the Arctic Corsair into storage, ahead of its upcoming move to allow the Environment Agency flood work. 

Here’s John and Andy from Hull Truck Theatre picking up netting from the Arctic Corsair.

Outreach around Hull

Over the last month we have visited various sites around Hull to tell people more about our exciting plans for preserving and promoting Hull's maritime heritage.

Equipped with many items from our handling collection, we travelled to Princes Quay, Dove Hospice, Asda Mount Pleasant, Cecil Gardens, Western Library, Harrison Park Extra Care facility, Redwood Glades, the Prospect Centre, Age UK, and Butterfly Memory Group, to name a few.

We've spoken to over 500 people of all ages, gaining useful suggestions, helpful feedback on our plans, and numerous personal stories of connections with Hull's maritime past and present. Many people enjoyed trying to fit into our whalebone corset or having memories of crossing the Humber by ferry triggered by our model of the Lincoln Castle. 

Cannon conservation nearing completion

Our Conservation and Engagement Officer and a team of volunteers have been busy completing restoration work on the late 18th century cannon from Queen Victoria Square.
Here is a before-and-after picture showing the transformation!

The cannons are expected to be on public display again in the next few weeks, so keep your eyes peeled!

New website coming soon!

We're currently working on a new website to promote the city and what will be achieved as part of this project, making Hull a world-class visitor destination. 

The website will include all the latest updates, videos, events and exhibition so you can following our exciting journey as the project progresses.

So watch this space!

Painting conservation work

Painting conservators Critchlow and Kukkonen have been carrying out important restoration work on a number of priceless pieces from the Maritime Museum's collection as part of the HYMC project.

A.T. Stewart's 1881 work 'Boxer Fleet' has received treatment including the removal of yellowed and discoloured natural resin varnish layers, the consolidation of flaking paint layers, and the repair of small canvas tears and punctures. Joseph Allen's 1868 painting 'Diana' has also been away for work comprising the removal of very thick soot and nicotine dirt layers, and the removal of discoloured varnish layers.

One important aim of the project is to display parts of the collection which are presently in storage or have never been on display previously, and conservation work such as this is integral to achieving this goal.

Catching up with our volunteers

Our maintenance volunteers on board the Arctic Corsair have been busy carrying out vital work on various repair jobs on board the ship.

This has included refitting the priming pot for the general service pump which was listed as requiring overhaul on the repair sheet for the final December 1987 trip which we discovered whilst relocating the ship's collection in the summer.

The pot had been discarded on the engine room floor, probably since the aforementioned trip!

The volunteers have also been repainting the engine room, colour-coding piping in relation to what it would have been used for (black for bilge, white for air, etc). The deck is also in the process of being relayed, with new non-slip boards being fitted. 

Refugee Council visits Maritime Museum

On 3 January 2019, members of of the Hull branch of the Refugee Council visited the Maritime Museum. They were given an overview of the ambitious project followed by a guided tour of the museum and object handling session.

The group offered feedback on our plans, and also highlighted which aspects of maritime history interested them the most.

Image of the Month

This month's image shows ongoing work which is being undertaken to clear silt from the disused dock at the North End Shipyard, off Dock Office Row and adjacent to High Street.

Contractors, working on behalf of the Environment Agency as part of the £36m flood defence works, arrived on site in the middle of November. They are now progressing with the incredible task of making the dry-dock suitable to house the Arctic Corsair as its permanent home.

Object of the Month

An object which has received a lot of attention whilst we have been out-and-about is the bottle of cod liver oil which forms part of our handling collection. It seems that everyone over a certain age has stories connected with this item, and it often induces an involuntary wince from people recalling tasting it as children!

Cod liver oil was a by-product of the fishing industry. Initially landed for processing on shore, from 1932 Hull trawlers were equipped with machinery to boil fish livers at sea. Nonetheless, a factory which later became Seven Seas was founded by trawler owners in Hull in 1935 to process livers. Although normally sold as cod liver oil, trawlermen have told us that they did not discriminate, and in fact the livers of numerous species of fish were boiled to produce oil. Due to being a strong source of Omega 3 acids, it was a fixture on chemists' shelves, alongside other products purported to improve health. It is nowadays mainly sold in capsule form.

We have heard numerous stories relating to cod liver oil and its uses. Some people tell of being forced to take it by their parents as children, and others recall that it was more palatable if mixed with orange juice. Additional anecdotes have come from advocates of its merits in combating earache, an octogenarian former trawlermen who maintains it is the reason he does not suffer from arthritis, people speaking of using it to cook with during WW2, and pet owners who claim it gave their dog's fur a desirable shine!

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.

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