Life at sea was perilous in the 18th century. Sailors faced the prospect of being shipwrecked, lost overboard, and seriously injured.
For the families they had to support, destitution was a very real prospect. Wives could so easily be left as the only breadwinner in a household. And should both parents in a family die, children would be left as orphans, unable to support themselves in a harsh world.
The 18th century saw the beginnings of large scale organised approaches to improving the physical and moral welfare of seafarers, and the provisions available to support their families.
Drawing upon the city’s archival collections, our latest exhibition explores how the people of Hull have helped the seafaring community since the 18th century. It features an image gallery of digitised material to help tell the story, and is supported by a talk given as part of our Lunchtime Club series on the 8th October 2019.
Throughout October and November, we will be tweeting images from the exhibition, so if you can’t come in person you can still take part on Twitter (#FTIPOTS).
For the young people in our audience, we will be hosting a special ‘All at Sea’ History Makers session on the 29th October 2019 (10am-4pm) where you can find out what it was like to be a seafarer in the 19th century.
On from 8th October to 30th November 2019, entrance is free and the exhibition can be viewed during normal History Centre opening hours: Tuesday-Friday 9.30am-5.30pm, and every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month 9.00am-4.30pm.