Southampton Museums

MARITIME MUSEUM

Address
Wool House, Town Quay Road, Southampton S014 2AR

Telephone
023 8063 5904

Opening times
Tues – Sat 10am – 4pm, sun 1-4pm
Closed on Mondays.

Admission

Adults £2, Children (aged 7-16) £1, Children under 7 Free, Family ticket £5 (2 Adults, 3 children), Concessions £1, School groups by arrangement.

The museum is housed in a medieval wool store which was later used as a prison. Names of 18th century French prisoners of war can still be seen, carved into the stone walls.

The museum houses one of the finest collections of Maritime History, and highlights include Docks Remembered – showing the history of the port from its Victorian foundations to present day container port and cruise terminal. There are also builders’ models of some of the most famous passenger ships associated with Southampton, including the Queen Mary, and an interactive area “Sail to Steam” for all the family.

Floating Feasts
A Gastronomic View of Journeys by Sea

Maritime Museum, Town Quay Road
Friday 5th October 2007 to Sunday 14th September 2008

One of the main attractions of sea travel is its leisurely pace and the opportunity to sit with one’s companions and enjoy good food often excitingly presented.

Catering for passengers, whether on a cruise or using the ship to get from one place to another, is a major activity for all shipping companies.

Southampton Museums have been recording changing food fashions through menus and other records, and our material spans almost one hundred years.

We can’t actually feed you, but we can whet your appetite!

Titanic
Southampton Remembers

Maritime Museum, Town Quay Road

This newly designed display tells the story of her crew, the majority of whom came from Southampton. As the largest liner in the world, Titanic had a crew of 898, but only 210 survived the sinking.

This exhibition provides the opportunity to discover their story, what jobs they did, how they felt about the new ‘superliner’, their vivid recollections of the night Titanic struck the iceberg and  the consequences for them and their families, which still reverberate in Southampton today.

Archive film footage, interviews with survivors, and unique artefacts combine to provide a new insight into the tragedy of Titanic’s loss and why the disaster continues to fascinate 95 years after she went to her watery grave.

Southampton Archives have also produced a Titanic exhibition which is located outside the Council Chamber at the Civic Centre and runs throughout 2007 (free admission).

Hello Sailor!
Gay Life on the Ocean Wave

Maritime Museum, Town Quay Road
Friday 13 April to Sunday 9 September 2007

Hello Sailor! is a touring exhibition from Merseyside Maritime Museum, Liverpool which looks at life on board passenger and merchant ships from the 1950s to 1980s. This was a time  when homosexuality was illegal and for gay men there were very few places to be safe, and where their sexuality was largely accepted.

Based on research carried out for the book 'Hello Sailor! The Hidden History of Gay Life at Sea' by Jo Stanley and Paul Baker, the exhibition reveals a little known aspect of the history of the merchant navy.

There are photographs and other ephemera from the period such as hand-made posters advertising shows; and archive material from the internationally recognised Southampton Oral History Unit.

Gay seafarers talk about their lives in taped interviews, and there is film of the gay wedding of two former seafarers who have been together since 1974. There are examples of Polari – a secret language used by gay men in public places.

Dr Jo Stanley says: “When camp seafarers came ashore, particularly in the 1950s and early 60s, they were like colourful butterflies in a drab world.

SOLENT SKY - HALL OF AVIATION

Address
Albert Road South, Southampton, SO14 3FR

Telephone
023 8063 5830

Opening times:
Tues - Sat 10.00am – 5.00pm, Sun 12.00noon - 5.00pm (last entry 4:00pm)
Closed Mondays except school or public holidays

Admission
Adults £5.00. Senior Citizens £4.00. Children (5-16 years) £3.00. Children under 5 free, Family tickets and group rates available.

No area of England has played a greater part in British Aviation than Southampton and the Solent. From the birth of the legendary Spitfire through to the romance of the first passenger flying boats.

Enquires and bookings:
Telephone 023 8063 5830 or email museums@southampton.gov.uk

MUSEUM OF ARCHAEOLOGY

Address
Gods House Tower, Winkle Street, Southampton SO14 2NY

Telephone
023 8063 5904

Opening times:
Tues - Sat 10.00am – 4.00pm, Sun 1.00pm - 4.00pm
Closed Mondays

FREE ADMISSION

Gods House Tower was built in the 15th century as part of the town defences and is one of the first purpose built artillery fortifications in England.

The museum tells the story of Southampton’s three historic towns; Roman Clausentum, Saxon Hamwic and medieval Southampton through the fascinating archaeological discoveries made here.

Enquires and bookings:
Telephone 023 8063 5904 or email museums@southampton.gov.uk