SCARBOROUGH MARITIME HERITAGE CENTRE NEWS

NEWSLETTER - SUMMER 2009 - OUR MISSION

-To establish a Maritime Heritage Centre near the harbour that is open to the public and which celebrates all aspects of Scarborough's Maritime Heritage.
-To retain the skills and knowledge of our fishing, boat building and sea faring community which are being lost.
-To carefully store, restore, care for and display all memorabilia and exhibits donated to the Centre.
-To stage exhibitions and events that will involve all members of the community from 5 years old to 90 years old.

SEAFEST EXHIBITION A GREAT SUCCESS

This year saw the 10th anniversary of Scarborough’s SeaFest event which took place in July and was the best yet. SMHC members put together and staffed a large exhibition area in the marquee on the West Pier. Exhibits included a 1902 ship’s medicine chest with some rather unusual bottles of medicine and remedies including the infamous cod liver oil, Epsom salts, and a cure for diarrhoea! The chest also included a mini Bible just in case the treatments failed! A range of fascinating oil paintings were on display along with the usual photograph albums, model ships and early Scarborough town maps. SMHC volunteers carried out sixty surveys on members of the public to identify the demand for a maritime heritage centre. The good news is we received 100% support for the project along with a lot of enthusiastic ideas and suggestions for features and events. Many thanks go to all those who helped with the event and visited our stand.

HERITAGE LOTTERY BID UPDATE

-We have compiled a five year business plan and are in discussions with Scarborough Borough Council about the £500,000 match funding needed to obtain the Lottery grant. We have been told that the money may be available from the Regional Development fund Yorkshire Forward, but that we will be competeing against other projects such as the re-development of the Spa and underground car park. Some smaller donations have been gratefully recived along with new memberships.
-We received a letter of support from Friarage School who say they will be delighted to be involved in our project.
-Michael Hickling, Editor of the Yorkshire Post Weekend Magazine, interviewed several SMHC committee members and an article should be appearing shortly.
-Thanks to Scarborough Library and North Yorkshire County Council we have been able to add many more facinating photographs of Scarborough ships onto our website. It is being continually updated and we are answering family history enquiries on a weekly basis. The website is receiving over 3000 viewings a week from around the world.

UNIQUE COLLECTIONS DONATED

Mr George Coull, fisherman and friend of local fisherman George Scales, donated his collection of maritime photographs and records to the SMHC. Committee member David Normandale collected the 60 files from Aberdeen in Scotland. Meanwhile, Scarborough resident David Pemberton, has donated his model ships and some paintings to the SMHC (to be displayed at our next open day).

AGM

An enthusiastic group gathered to attend the first official AGM of the SMHC Company Ltd. Committee members were elected and the accounts presented. The official business was followed by a fascinating and well received slide show and talk by Mr George Westwood about old Scarborough steam trawlers and their crews.

TRAINING AND NETWORKING

-Lindy Rowley and John Rushton met with Filey Archive’s curator Eric Pindar. Mr Pindar gave them detailed information about the Filey archive and the storage techniques used, as well as offering help and support to the SMHC project.

-In December 2009, a committee member will be attending the second National Maritime Museum Curators’ meeting at the Historic Docks in Portsmouth. Over the summer, committee members visited the Scottish National Maritime Museum Clydebuilt Braehead, in Glasgow and the Harbour side Museum in Irvine to assess their displays and facilities.

-In June 2009 the SMHC project was presented to a well attended Renaissance & Town Team meeting at the Royal Hotel. The project was well received with some useful feedback and ideas offered by the audience. Thanks go to Renaissance Manager, Nick Taylor, for an article on the SMHC project published in the July/August edition of “Scarborough’s Future”.

HERITAGE OPEN DAYS: 12th and 13th of September 2009

  The local Heritage Open Day events have been organised by the Scarborough and District Civic Society. The SMHC will be displaying the “Their Past Your Future” inter-generational project banners, produced earlier this year, at the old St Thomas’s Church and Scarborough Sea Cadet Hall in East Sandgate. The display panels have already been on show and presentations been given at St Mary’s Church and in Scarborough Library. Don’t miss this opportunity if you have not seen them yet or the amazing interior of the Sea Cadet Hall.

SUPPORT THE SMHC

We still need more members, donations and letters of support. Please also try to contact your local councillor and ask them to support our project. For more information, contact our Membership Secretary on 01723 360628, write to the address below or email us at scarboroughmaritime@yahoo.com Thank you.

Core Committee Members

Martin Johnson – Chairman.
George Westwood – Vice Chair.
Lindy Rowley – Vice Chair
Faith Young – Secretary.
Mark Vesey - Membership Secretary.
Maria Royle – Fundraising
Norma Harrison – Treasurer.
John Rushton – Historical Advisor

SMHC is a company limited by guarantee under the Companies Act 1985 &1989

ADDRESS:Scarborough Sea Cadets, old St Thomas's Church, East Sandgate, Scarborough, YO11 1PR

SMHC BID UPDATE

We are still seeking the £100,000 match funding we need to apply for the £1 million Heritage Lottery Fund bid and are in discussion with Scarborough Borough Council about this. Some small amounts of funding have been kindly donated by local firms but in the current economic climate we do not expect them to be able to meet our target figure. Nationally there is funding for the re-generation of seaside towns and we may be able to tap into this. It was hoped that a recent article in “Fishing News” might also bring forward some sponsors. Meanwhile Colin Barnes is helping the committee draw up a 3 year business plan.

INTERGENERATIONAL PROJECT – PASSING ON OUR MARITIME HERITAGE

SMHC volunteers were recently involved in a pioneering project to bring members of our respected fishing community together with the Old Town’s younger generation. The “Their Past Your Future” project was the first community project of its kind in North Yorkshire and was designed to help break down generational stereotypes. The group of 8 retired fishermen and 8 young people came together during the October half-term for a range of educational activities centred on the history of Scarborough’s fishing industry and its role during World War 2. Educational activities included; a visit to Eden Camp war museum, a tour of the Harbour and a trip on the Regal Lady – herself a veteran of the Dunkirk Evacuation. Participants also spent time in the Library researching local archives and photographs from Scarborough’s fishing past. The younger participants interviewed the older participants about their life at sea and were videoed at the same time. With the assistance of a graphic and video artist the group produced a series of display panels documenting Scarborough and its fishing industry during the 1939-45 conflict as well as a video diary DVD of the week’s activities.

The display panels will be housed in Scarborough Library, local schools and community venues for the time being until a dedicated Maritime Heritage Centre is built. They will then join the collection of artefacts and archives already gathered by the SMHC. The video diary DVD is available to be shown in schools and community groups. Overall, the project has been a great success and has helped in keeping Scarborough’s fishing heritage alive in the minds of the younger generation.

SMHC OPEN DAY – NOV 2008

Over 65 people attended the Open Day, AGM and Lecture by Dr Robb Robinson from the University of Hull’s Maritime History Unit. Information about our £1 million Heritage Lottery bid was given and the artist’s impressions of what the new SMHC may look like were unveiled. Dr Robinson’s talk on the various aspects of maritime history along the Yorkshire Coast was well received by all present. Thanks to local fishermen and SMHC supporters, exhibits, artefacts and archives were on show giving everyone an idea of what the new SMHC could offer the community. The next event for us will be running a stand at Seafest in July 2009 and another Open Day towards the end of 2009.

TRAINING AND NETWORKING

In November 2008, an SMHC committee member participated in the UK’s first ever Maritime Museum Curators’ meeting which was held in Liverpool’s Merseyside Maritime Museum. Scarborough’s plans were outlined and a broad level of support was forthcoming including guidance from the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. Committee members have also surveyed the Grimsby MM and the SS Great Britain MM in Bristol. Two committee members have undertaken a training course in Pest Control in Museum collections

LETTERS OF SUPPORT

Letters of support for the SMHC have been received from the following organisations: Scarborough Renaissance, Scarborough Sub Aqua Club, Scarborough RNLI, Scarborough and District Civic Society, University of Hull, Coast and Moors Voluntary Action, Scarborough Archaeological and Historical Society. – Send us yours!

NEXT EVENT

Our AGM will take place at 11am on Saturday 4 April 2009 in the Sea Cadet Hall. We look forward to seeing you there and don’t forget to bring a few friends! When joining us, you will be made to feel most welcome by a dedicated and hardworking group and you will be involved in one of Scarborough’s most exciting projects. Fore more details about becoming a supporter you can log onto our website or contact our Membership Secretary on 01723 360628.

Core Committee Members:

- Martin Johnson – Chairman.
- George Westwood – Vice Chair.
- Lindy Rowley – Vice Chair.
- Faith Young – Secretary.
- Mark Vesey - Membership Secretary.
- Maria Royle – Fundraising.
- Jayne Harrison - Treasurer.
- John Rushton – Historical Advisor.