Collection: North Devon Maritime Museum

Collection-level records:

• Collection overview (Cornucopia)

  Maritime Collection

  The maritime collection is the main theme of this museum. It includes the Clovelly Herring boat, c.1880 with masts and sails; an Appledore salmon boat, c.1948 with oars and gear; 18th century cannon; railings from the pier at Westward Ho!, destroyed by storms in the 1880s; and a figurehead of Lady Mary carved by John Butler in 1993. There are shipwrights, caulkers, sailmakers and coopers tools; and navigation instruments including compasses, an octant, sextants, traverse-board parallel rules, a telescope, lead, logs and early radar equipment. There is a significant collection of half-models made in local shipyards; a ship’s wheel; binnacle with compass; engine room telegraph; nameplate and porthole from MV Farringay. The Customs collection includes a chest; girthing chain; Sykes hygrometer; officer’s slide rule; pistol; sword; and handcuffs. From HMS Bideford, there is a model, the ship’s bell, badge, cap ribbon and two small watercolour paintings. There is a RNLI marroon, lifebelts from named vessels and medals for lifesaving. Ships models include two model steamships of the Tatum Line, five schooner/ketch models; World War II landing craft; two Tudor ships models; one Viking longboat model; one medieval boat model; a model of HMS Tees; and one of MV Roma, a local steamer. There are working models of a rope walk and a triple expansion engine. Among decorative woodcarving are a figurehead, a fiddlehead, a cat-head, tillers, ships’ name-boards and an officer’s sea-chest.

  Subjects

  Maritime

  Fine Art Collection

  The museum has oil and watercolour pictures, prints and maps mostly of marine interest.

  Subjects

  Fine Art

  Social History Collection

  This is a varied collection of material including a range of local domestic ceramics; an iron ‘Bodley’ range made in Appledore; early 20th century kitchen utensils; laundry equipment; local costume; a sampler, c.1810; sewing machines; an early 20th century perambulator; and a selection of early 20th century toys. There is a harvest jug made by John Philips Hoyle of Bideford in 1862 showing the barque Ocean Queen. There is a Victorian school room with original fittings.

  Subjects

  Social History

  Subjects

  Oral history

  Agriculture Collection

  There is a collection of farm machinery and equipment relating to North Devon; and the recent bequest of a Ferguson tractor, plough and other small items.

  Subjects

  Agriculture

  Oral History Collection

  This comprises interviews with fishermen and seamen and some World War II memories.

  Photographic Collection

  This is a large collection including many maritime images and several small named collections of ships and boats. It includes prints, negatives, glass negatives, magic lantern slides, transparencies and videos. There is a postcard collection of local views from the 19th century to the present day.

  Subjects

  Photography

  Archives Collection

  This is a significant collection comprising: a large number of complete sets of ships plans for all vessels build by Appledore Shipbuilders between the late 1950s and the 1980s; books including two treatises on navigation from the 18th century; and long runs of magazines, especially Mariners Mirror and Sea Breezes. There is the V C Boyle Collection, consisting of cuttings, notes, sketches, water colours and postcards representing the lifetime interest of the collector, a local teacher, historian and artist; and the Grahame Farr Collection consisting of photographs and notes and cuttings on Bristol Channel shipping and transcripts of Custom House Registers from 1786 covering Bideford, Barnstaple and Ilfracombe. The museum is a service point for the Devon Record Office.

  Subjects

  Archives

  Other

  Archaeology; Medals; Personalia

  Source: Cornucopia

  Date: Not known, but before 2015

  Licence: CC BY-NC