The Yorkshire seaside town of Bridlington is known as the lobster capital of Europe, the fishing vessels that adorn the harbour walls often leave early in the morning to bring back countless shellfish in the late evening. But on the opposite side of the harbour is the place where the tourists congregate, a row of shops and food stalls entice the visitors as well as the locals to their cuisine of burgers, ice cream and sea food.
But one of these shops is actually a small museum dedicated to the history of the harbour and the maritime aspects of Bridlington history. Walking through the small door you are immediately greeted by one of the volunteers who run this place, officially to promote the nearby historic coble Three Brothers which was built in 1912, the exhibits in here go far beyond just this one boat. The binnacle and wheel from the old dredger Gypsey Race (model pictured above) is directly in front of the door, models of the harbour boats in glass cases going down the side where they show names of vessels long gone – Boys Own (later named Flamborian), Bridlington Queen and of course the current pleasure boat Yorkshire Belle which has just celebrated its 75th anniversary.
At the far end of the room is a brass propeller from the wreck of the German submarine UC-39, sunk by the gunfire from HMS Thrasher in 1917 following a career that had already sunk three Allied vessels during the First World War. Divers have recovered many artefacts from the thousands of wrecks that litter the Yorkshire coast and as you walk around the exhibits the items from the lost ships tell a story in themselves. A display of items from wrecks has one specific relic that is close to my heart – mostly because it was me who found it. It is a sailor’s rigging knife that was located during my search of the north beach in 2004 when I was looking for evidence of The Great Gale of 1871. This event was a huge disaster for Bridlington, when 28 ships came ashore and 50 lives were lost, including six of the crew of the lifeboat Harbinger. The museum is full of Great Gale history – a figurehead from one of the wrecks, a model of the Harbinger and story boards telling the visitor what happened on the fateful day on 10th February 1871.
One wall has a display that is not like the others, telling of an international incident that occurred just a few miles away during the American War of Independence. It was September 1779 that Captain John Paul Jones was in command of his ship Bonhomme Richard and was leading his fleet of three other ships to attack a British convoy when he came across just that. What he didn’t count on was the two British ships risking everything to allow the convoy to escape. The Battle of Flamborough Head commenced and went on into the night, crowds lining the town walls and nearby cliffs watching the gunfire. Jones won the battle but lost the convoy – along with his ship in the process. Today the wreck of the Bonhomme Richard is still lost somewhere off the coast, despite a number of high profile (and expensive) searches for her.
An adjoining room introduces the visitor to more local harbour relics and also some of the more sentimental things from the minesweeper named after the town. HMS Bridlington was a Second World War vessel that had regular links with the town, took part in the D-Day operations and was later used by the RAF and renamed HMAFV Bridlington. When she was scrapped in 1958 the bell, ships crest and deck plate all bearing her name were given to the town museum and here they are today to tell the story of this small but heroic warship.
Other displays have a fascinating insight into the nearby areas that saw the famous Lawrence of Arabia based here, or the gansey being made (also known as a fisherman’s jersey), a case containing Sammy the Seagull and an opportunity to tie your own seaman’s knots on the small lengths of rope that hang down – thankfully with instructions!
With so much history and exhibits in one small museum, the most surprising part of the museum is the fact that it is free to enter, the people running it just want to spread the history and promote the harbour, a few interesting gifts to purchase will complete the visit and the opportunity to drop a donation in the box to help with caring for the artefacts. With the promise of a revamp sometime in the new year, perhaps summer 2023 may see new items and more information on display that will tell the visitor more about Bridlington and its historic harbour than ever before.
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Richard M. Jones is an author and historian specialising in disasters and shipwrecks along with two World Wars. Spending his time between Hampshire and Yorkshire, he has put up 12 memorials to victims of forgotten tragedies and published 19 books along the way.