The ninth UK Maritime Heritage Forum (UKMHF) will be held at The Guildhall, Hull, this Thursday and Friday (5-6 October).
Co-organised with Hull Maritime Museum (part of Hull City Council/Hull Culture and Leisure Ltd), the UK Maritime Heritage Forum is an annual two-day conference bringing together members of the UKs maritime heritage community, comprising maritime museums large and small, historic vessels, maritime archaeologists, maritime historians, and individuals interested or working in the maritime heritage sector.
The forum is an opportunity to share ideas and best practice as well as build lasting professional relationships with others across the broad maritime heritage community. In past years the UKMHF has been held in Liverpool, Portsmouth, Chatham, Bristol, Shetland, Belfast, Newcastle, Jersey and now Hull. Over 100 people from across Britain are coming to the Hull meeting a record attendance for the group.
Commenting on the conference, UKMHF Chair and Director of Royal Museums Greenwich Dr Kevin Fewster said: In recognition of Hulls rich maritime history of fishing, whaling, trading and ship-building, we are delighted to have worked with colleagues from Hull Maritime Museum to bring the UK Maritime Heritage Forum to Hull in this very special year for the city.
“Alongside our other sponsors, we especially thank Hull UK City of Culture 2017 for its financial support which has enabled us to enhance the delegate experience and offer bursaries for those institutions and individuals who are unable to self-fund attendance at this valuable networking event.
The Executive Director of Hull UK City of Culture 2017, Francesca Hegyi said: Hull has a long and proud maritime heritage, from a busy mediaeval port in the Hanseatic League right up to today. Hence we are very pleased to be welcoming to Hull over 100 UK Maritime Heritage Forum delegates from all part of the UK to see our rich maritime history for themselves. We are also pleased that Hull UK City of Culture 2017 was able to financially support the valuable networking and information-sharing that this annual conference allows for this important part of our heritage.
Councillor Terry Geraghty, Hull City Council Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Tourism and Chair of Hull Culture & Leisure Limited, said: It is a great privilege to host the UK Maritime Heritage Forum at The Guildhall, and I look forward to delegates visiting our Maritime Museum, which has just welcomed its millionth visitor this year. Hull is Yorkshires maritime city. Given its unique geographical position at the confluence of the Humber and the river Hull, the citys heritage is built on seafaring, and this is visible throughout the city with popular visitor attractions such as the Arctic Corsair, the Spurn Light Ship , The Deep and our museum, which contains the largest scrimshaw collection in Europe.