Aberdeen Maritime Museum
Encyclopedia
Maritime museum
A maritime museum is a museum specializing in the display of objects relating to ships and travel on large bodies of water...
in Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
The museum is situated on the historic Shiprow
Shiprow
Shiprow is a historic street in the heart of Aberdeen, Scotland, near the harbour.Provost Ross's house, dating from 1593 and the second oldest house in the city, is located here. Since 1981, it has housed part of the Aberdeen Maritime Museum....
in the heart of the city, near the harbour. It makes use of a range of buildings including a former church and Provost Ross' House
Provost John Ross
Provost John Ross was Lord Provost in Aberdeen, Scotland from 1710–1712. Today he is most famous for the house he occupied in the 18th century from 1702.-Provost Ross's House:...
, one of the oldest domestic buildings in the city.
The museum tells the story of the city's long relationship with the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
. Collections cover shipbuilding
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
, fast sailing ships, fishing
Fishing industry
The fishing industry includes any industry or activity concerned with taking, culturing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing or selling fish or fish products....
and port history, and displays on the North Sea oil
North Sea oil
North Sea oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons, comprising liquid oil and natural gas, produced from oil reservoirs beneath the North Sea.In the oil industry, the term "North Sea" often includes areas such as the Norwegian Sea and the area known as "West of Shetland", "the Atlantic Frontier" or "the...
industry. It also commands a spectacular viewpoint over the busy harbour.
Collection highlights include ship plans and photographs from the major shipbuilders of Aberdeen including Hall, Russell & Company Ltd
Hall, Russell & Company
Hall, Russell & Company, Limited was a shipbuilder based in Aberdeen, Scotland, UK-History:Brothers James and William Hall, Thomas Russell, a Glasgow engineer, and James Cardno Couper founded the company in 1864 to build steam engines and boilers. In 1867 the company built its first ship, the Kwang...
, Alexander Hall and Sons
Alexander Hall and Sons
Alexander Hall and Sons built ships in Aberdeen from 1797 to 1957.Alexander Hall took over his father-in-law’s shipbuilding business Cochar and Gibbon in 1790 to found Alexander Hall and Company. Their first ships were wooden sailing vessels...
, Duthie and John Lewis & Co. Ltd and Walter Hood & Co.
Displays include ship and oil rig models, paintings, clipper ship and "North Boats" material, fishing, whaler
Whaler
A whaler is a specialized ship, designed for whaling, the catching and/or processing of whales. The former included the whale catcher, a steam or diesel-driven vessel with a harpoon gun mounted at its bows. The latter included such vessels as the sail or steam-driven whaleship of the 16th to early...
s and commercial trawlers, North Sea oil industry, and the marine environment.