The Town of Hastings

The sea-side town of Hastings, so frequently associated with 1066 (or car insurance if you’re exposed to UK television), sits along the South coast of East Sussex, offering experiences familiar to those who frequent or owe their roots to the quintessentially British sea-side: fish and chips, seagulls, piers, and amusement arcades. Two of the town’s offerings, which are a minutes’ walk from one another in the historic ‘old town’ towards Rock-a-Nore, are the Fishermen’s Museum and the Shipwreck Museum.

Both museums are evidence of the love that the community has for the local history, a history which extends far beyond the Norman Conquest. So much time and energy has been poured into the collection, curation, and preservation of those displays, with many being donations from generations of locals, and this energy imbues the galleries as you are walking around.

Free entry and the ability to view the galleries in an hour each (longer can be spent for the more thorough interpretation readers), the museums can fit into a seaside day out, alongside the local antiques stores and historic public houses. Donations are welcome at both and certainly necessary to keep both sites open and able to carry on their work.

The Fishermen’s Museum

Open every day from 11am, the Fishermen’s Museum is situated in St Nicolas’ Church, built on the beach in the 19th Century to corner fishermen into attending church, which adds an atmosphere to the history as you enter through a chapel door, and face the hull of an original boat and the stained-glass window rising behind it. Despite the possibility of a hushed solemnity that the venue could bring, the museum instead has a homely cosy ambience with paintings and photographs adorning the walls from ceiling to floor, another testament to the community and local identity attached to the museum. These are not merely collective histories, but families, friends, and local characters whose lives and legends have imprinted into the museum walls since its opening in 1956. Taxidermy examples of local catches watch you from their glass cases, model ships and examples of different fishing equipment fill the rest of the available space.

There is some old-school curation in the use of mannequins, demonstrating different traditions from the area. A particular mannequin catches the eye with its silver winkle adorned suit, with photos of previous wearers complementing the display. This suit is part of a local point of pride; the Winkle Club, a Victorian charity set up to provide for lower-income families that still fund-raises today. Famous members of the Winkle Club include the late Queen Elizabeth, and her mother.

The Winkle Suit on display
PHOTOGRAPH BY Robyn Louise

The centre of attention is the 1912 lugger boat, the Enterprise, the last of its kind used in Hastings, displayed in the middle of the gallery, which visitors can climb onto and look out over the rest of the museum. It is a stunning visual and an exciting climb onto the deck, and the height is almost daunting as you peer overboard and imagine seawater rushing around instead of glass cabinets and the heads of other visitors. A more recent addition to the museum is a gallery space that includes more photographs and interpretation that delve further into maritime history of the area. Outside the museum are a range of fishing vessels in their entirety; there is truly so much to experience.

The venues ecclesiastic origins are demonstrated in its windows, St Nicolas is the patron saint of sailors
PHOTOGRAPH BY Robyn Louise

The Shipwreck Museum

Also open every day from 10.30am, the Shipwreck Museum is another manifestation of community love and effort. Great hoards of artefacts fill cabinets to the brim, guiding visitors through a chronology of Hastings and national maritime history.

Part of the unique visitor experience is that the museum is decorated to resemble the inside of a ship; lanterns drip down the wood-planks of the walls, the sound of seagulls permeates the galleries – or are they gallies? - and lights project waves onto the archaeological treasures on display.

Lanterns lights the way through the galleries
PHOTOGRAPH BY Robyn Louise

Not all the finds here are local but include remains of a Roman barge that had sunk in the Thames in the Fifteenth Century, and artefacts from a Dutch ship and a Carolean warship – the remains of the ships themselves are still visible at low tide along the south coast - creating a wider image of maritime history. There is also a wide range of dinosaur fossils on display for keen palaeontologists.

A plethora of local goods can be found in each gift shop, hand-crafted local products, history books, postcards and magnets of local scenes, as well as the usual treasure trove of gemstones and stationery, proceeds going back to the museums and local artists.

Both museums are well worth a visit if you’re in the area, to learn about maritime history and archaeology, but also to experience the sheer love and care a community can have for their local heritage, and the positive impact this has on heritage preservation and sharing.

Locations

Shipwreck Museum

Rock-a-Nore Road

Hastings

East Sussex

TN34 3DW

UK

Hastings Fishermen's Museum

Rock-a-Nore Road

Hastings

East Sussex

TN34 3DW

UK

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Robyn Louise

Robyn Codlin is a History teacher in the UK with a background in museums and heritage. She currently researching the use of museum collections in secondary school History.