Blaydes Maritime Centre
We’re part of the Faculty of Arts, Culture and Education, University of Hull.
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Recent News
A new chapter for Blaydes Maritime Centre
This month marks the re-opening of Blaydes Maritime Centre and exciting things are afoot. Not only are we physically returning to our grand Georgian building after months of pandemic lockdown,…
Welcome to our interns
This month we welcomed four new interns to our team at Blaydes Maritime Centre. The interns have all recently completed degree programmes at the University of Hull and will be…
Blaydes’ maritime collections
Blaydes Maritime Centre is based in Blaydes House, an underappreciated architectural gem, and, along with Wilberforce House, the most complete survivor of the merchants’ premises that once lined the High…
Blaydes’ research
For more than twenty years, Blaydes Maritime Centre has established a deserved reputation as a leading research institute for maritime history. Led for many years by director Professor David J….
Research ship William Scoresby
To time with the publicity around the maiden research voyage of the Sir David Attenborough, Blaydes Maritime Centre’s Research Associate Dr Robb Robinson has written a fascinating piece about a…
Thank you to our fantastic interns!
Our interns Katherine, Georgia, Amy and Alex are now coming to the end of their time here at Blaydes and we’d like to thank them for all their hard work…
The lives of a Yorkshire shipwreck
Blaydes researcher Dr Robb Robinson is investigating the history of the Yorkshire coast for a forthcoming book, and has uncovered the story of the wrecking of the Hull trawler Diamond….
Public maritime history seminars
All are welcome to attend our free online public history seminars. The programme is as follows, and will be online. We will update this page with links to the lectures…
Researching the history of safety at sea with the help of Lloyd’s Register Foundation
From whalers to warships, Hull is justly proud of its maritime history, spanning 800 years. For the last 250 of these, Lloyd’s Register has been an integral part of the…
Celebrating Hull’s maritime links with Melbourne
At Blaydes Maritime Centre we have been working with Hull, Yorkshire’s Maritime City on an exciting partnership with a seafaring city on the other side of the world – Melbourne,…
Hull trawlers’ role in Falklands conflict
April 2nd marks the 40th anniversary of the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands. Nine Hull-based civilian vessels were requisitioned to join the Task Force that was assembled by the…
Upcoming Events
23 June 2022, Wilberforce Institute, 15.00-17.00
‘Over the Sea to Safety: Refugees’ Sea Crossings’
As part of Refugee Week, BMC has teamed up with Wilberforce Institute to organise this seminar exploring refugees’ maritime experiences. Speakers include: Teghan Louis-Puttick (Sea Rescue Volunteer); Abdolhamid (Hull Refugee); Jeff Morgan (Honorary Research Fellow, Wilberforce Institute), Dr Nicholas Evans (History, University of Hull); Professor Vicki Squire (Politics, University of Warwick).
Over many millennia of human history, people have taken to the seas fleeing persecution. Such journeys have frequently been fraught with danger. For example, between 1975 and 1980, it is estimated that between 200 000 and 400 000 ‘boat people’ perished while escaping violence in Vietnam in small, often unseaworthy boats. Currently, the UNHCR argues that ‘Europe is living through a maritime refugee crisis of historic proportions’: each year thousands of refugees attempt to reach Europe across the Mediterranean in flimsy vessels, with a high cost in lives; the English Channel has become the site of unfolding tragedy as refugees in inflatable boats seek to traverse the world’s busiest shipping lanes. In this seminar, organized by the University of Hull’s Wilberforce Institute and Blaydes Maritime Centre, our speakers will explore the past and present of refugees’ maritime experiences, considering testimony from the refugees themselves as well examining the factors which have impelled people to risk their lives at sea in search of a safe home.
Speakers include:
The event is free. Please register on EventBrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/over-the-sea-to-safety-refugees-sea-crossings-tickets-347897339307
Please see the ‘History at Hull’ Youtube channel for the recordings of the seminars we have had so far this academic year. Click on this link to go straight to the Blaydes Maritime section of the channel.