Our work

As a registered charity, our main aim is to educate the public. We have been working for over 10 years to help preserve the maritime legacy of Scarborough so it can be passed on to future generations. Much of this history is being lost because of the ever reducing number of fishing families in Scarborough. Our goal is to ensure that this valuable history is preserved and shared.

Our goals are:

• To retain the skills and knowledge of the fishing, boat building and seafaring community which are being lost.
• To hold archives and artifacts relevant to the town's maritime heritage and make them accessible to all
• To stage exhibitions and events involving members of the community from 5 years old to 95 years old.
• Our volunteers will give public talks and research questions received from the public.

• To welcome and train volunteers from the community and help them develop their skills and confidence.

Exhibitions available to loan - click here

Schools, community groups, organisations & associations

Our volunteers are always happy to visit your group and deliver a presentation about Scarborough's amazing maritime history. For schools, we have a treasure chest of maritime objects that can also be loaned out to primary schools for educational purposes for use with children age 4 to 8. The treasure chest is in the shape of a wooden fish box and contains a scale model trawler net, fishermen and women's clothing, a model coble boat and a trawler, a model fish, life-belt, ship's wheel, compass and many historic photographs. A set of maritime word 'flashcards' and a simple word search game is is included along with a teacher's guide book and CD.

SMHC volunteers are available to come into your school, group, club or organization and deliver a talk on Scarborough's maritime history, call 01723 369361 or email scarboroughmaritime@yahoo.com (There is no set fee for this service but donations to help keep the Centre going are appreciated).

Volunteers

The Scarborough Maritime Heritage Centre depends on volunteers to do its work. We are always happy to welcome friendly volunteers who can spare a couple of hours a week to help with filing, scanning, fundraising, accounts, research, putting together exhibitions or greeting the public. Please call Lindy Rowley for a chat on 01723 369361, pop in or email us. To can learn more by visiting our volunteer page.

The Scarborough Maritime Heritage Centre is open Wednesday to Sunday, from 11am to 4pm. We are open to the public with volunteers on hand to talk you through our exhibitions and answer any of your questions about the history of Scarborough.