Collection: Hastings Fishermen’s Museum

Collection-level records:

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  The current collection relates primarily to the Hastings fishing industry and community although there are some exhibits of a more general maritime nature. Additionally the museum also contains items relating to the original use of the building as the fishermen’s Church of St Nicholas and to its continued occasional use for religious services. There are several memorials to local fishermen who have lost their lives at sea, including a Book of Remembrance and an illuminated window. The largest and most important exhibit in the museum is the Hastings fishing lugger, built for sail, the “Enterprise”, RX 278, built in 1912 and laid up in 1954, which is situated in the middle of the old church.

  Other exhibits include a horse capstan for pulling boats up the beach, ship’s instruments and fittings, lanterns, oil port and starboard lights, ship’s tackle such as chains, anchors, blocks and a dead eye, much of these trawled up by local fishermen, together with sailmaker’s and net maker’s tools and types of nets used locally.

  The Museum has a good collection of models including a collection of half boat design models from a local boat builder.

  The museum has a wide range of images from oil paintings to postcards and slides, those not on permanent display form the basis of regular changing exhibitions in the extension.

  The Museum also has on show the tub and oar used by Biddy Stonham to entertain visitors to Hastings, a suit worn by the Winkle King made of shells, a 19th century smugglers barrel and clay pipes from the wreck of the “Amsterdam”. There are some natural history exhibits mainly from a 19th century collection, including the head and wings of an albatross from the South Pacific, a great white heron and a stuffed turtle.

  The building itself is an exhibit and many of the original church fittings have survived, including pews, the font and several lecterns. There are also memorial plaques to local fishermen who lost their lives at sea and a Book of Remembrance, which is an important and ongoing service we offer to the fishing community.

  A small number of exhibits are on loan to the Museum, primarily from the Hastings Museum and Art Gallery.

  A catalogue of the museum’s exhibits was updated before the museum was accredited in 2010. Altogether there are over 5000 accessioned objects all of which have been recorded in digital form, with photographs on MODES.

  A Register and two copies were also printed and bound on archival paper, containing all objects accessioned by the Museum from its inception in 1956.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2024

  Licence: CC BY-NC