SCARBOROUGH MARITIME HERITAGE CENTRE NEWS
THE VISION FOR 2008
As you walk along Scarborough seafront taking in the salty air and listening to the seagulls call you will pass the harbour with its yachts and pleasure boats, perhaps noticing just one or two rusty old fishing trawlers. You may wonder about this port and its history and then notice the colourful sign besides the historic Newcastle Packet Inn pointing towards the Scarborough Maritime Heritage Centre.
When entering East Sandgate, where fishermen once used to draw up their boats and carpenters created some of Scarborough's finest ships, you will notice a strikingly modern glass and wood building ahead of you that resembles the bridge of a ship. Entering at ground floor level you will be immediately awestruck as you appear to be standing on the ocean floor. The room is blue with the sounds of the sea; there are fish and nets floating about the room. So this is what its like to be under the sea!
A friendly face will welcome you to the Scarborough Maritime Heritage Centre and hand you a guide. You may be just in time to see a display of net mending by one of the last few fishermen working or retired in Scarborough. There will be plenty of interactive displays to look at with information about the seas and oceans that surround us - Why are they salty? How many fish are there in the sea? Why is it blue? If you have trouble reading there will be a large print guide or a button to push with a recording to tell you all about what is in front of you. You can find out just what state our seas are really in, how climate change is affecting the fish and what you can do to help.
You may be interested in a collection of shining brass portholes, bells and gauges, all recovered from local shipwrecks by the Scarborough Sub-Aqua Club. You will be able to read the latest news on the search for the famous American warship, the Bonhomme Richard, sunk centuries ago and lying somewhere off Flamborough Head.
Your journey from the ocean floor will take you up onto level one where you will suddenly be on the bridge of a working trawler. The radio will be crackling with ship to shore messages, the radar and sonar will be giving live pictures of shipping in the area and the shape of the sea bed. You could try your hand at some Morse code or listen to the shipping forecast; learn where Dogger, Tyne, Cromarty and Forth really are. You can try steering a trawler into Scarborough Harbour from a rough North Sea storm using our simulator. You can find out how fishermen stayed warm before steam and diesel engines came along. You can see models of boats with interactive buttons to explain the names of parts on board the boats. You will see and hear how fishermen and their families lived in Scarborough with many wonderful old photographs, videos and diaries donated to the Centre and carefully preserved by the Maritime Centre's archive volunteer group.
But watch out for those groups of schoolchildren who will be dashing around filling out their maritime trail quiz. Every participant gets a "We love Scarborough" sticker!
After learning so much about Scarborough's fishing heritage you will reach the top floor where you can relax with a nice cup of tea and a piece of cake whilst looking out over Scarborough Harbour. Don't forget to buy something from our well stocked gift shop on your way out to take home and remind you of your visit. Thanks for coming and we hope to see you soon at one of our special events or lectures. Remember our displays will be regularly updated and changed so there will always be something new to see.
If this visit leaves you wanting to know more you are welcome to come and take a closer look at our thousands of stored photographs, maritime books and records. Perhaps you are tracing an ancestor who once lived or worked in Scarborough or just simply interested in the history of a Scarborough built boat. If you don't have time right now you can take a look at our website:
www.scarboroughsmaritimeheritage.org.uk
Thanks for coming and we look forward to seeing you again soon!
