Maritime and local collections in Southampton

The Maritime and Local History museum collection was established in 1912. It includes material relating to the Southampton area and to ships and shipping lines with a connection to the city.

What we do

• We look after Southampton City Council’s maritime & local history museum collections
• We contribute to work on the permanent and temporary exhibitions in SeaCity Museum, Tudor House and Garden and elsewhere
• We work with local groups and individuals to promote Southampton’s heritage

Services we offer

• Help for people seeking information about our collections
• Provide images of items in our collections
• Visits and tours behind the scenes when possible

Contact: museums@southampton.gov.uk

Highlights from our collection

• Costume: including accessories such as bags, fans, parasols and shoes - since Southampton is a major port, the collection also includes maritime occupational costume and uniform
• Photographs and paintings collections: our photographs, paintings, drawings and prints cover the shipping, docks, topographical views as well as local scenes and people
• Ephemera and souvenirs: Mainly related to merchant shipping and including menus, posters and ocean liner souvenirs
• Ship models: we have a large collection of ship models, illustrating the wide range of ships associated with Southampton during the last couple of centuries