New project on county’s proud maritime history
The volunteer-led project will look into the history of Gloucestershire mariners and has been made possible thanks to a grant worth £9,522.70 from Lloyd’s Register Foundation.
Research will be carried out into the families involved with the sea trade, the merchants who owned vessels, the local men who crewed them and the boats that were built and repaired.
The project will look at the individuals who worked in this trade and the family links between them, with the aim of discovering some of the stories associated with ships and shipping in the county. The work will mainly be undertaken by volunteers from the Gloucestershire Family History Society, based at the Archives in Gloucester, and will be led by Tony Conder, local historian and volunteer.
It will look at the crew lists which were used as the official record of each local boat. Analysis will allow the team to explore more information on the cargo stored on the boats, as well as trade routes and the lives of the community. The crew lists also act as incident report forms for each journey, and reminders of tragedies when boats were lost at sea.
The funding allows for an online exhibition and display, which will be ready for Gloucester’s annual History Festival in September 2025.
Cllr Lynden Stowe, cabinet member at Gloucestershire County Council with responsibility for Archives, said: “I’m delighted that funding has been awarded for this project exploring the county’s proud maritime history and I’d like to thank Lloyd’s Register Foundation for their support. It will give us a greater understanding of our seafaring history and uncover many fascinating stories about the lives of the people who were involved in the sea trade at this time.”
Zach Schieferstein, Archivist at Lloyd’s Register Foundation, said: “For more than 260 years, Lloyd’s Register has been ensuring that ships are safe to go to sea. The Foundation is therefore delighted that, through our small grants scheme, we are able to support projects such as this one that help local communities in the UK and beyond connect with their maritime heritage.
“The work of people in the maritime sector, whether at sea or on land, continues to underpin all of our lives. As part of our mission, we will continue to support others to use local knowledge to educate and inspire about our maritime past, present and future.”
Vicky Thorpe, outreach coordinator of the Gloucestershire Family History Society, said: “We have always known that there was a strong tradition of seafaring in the county. It will be very good to look in depth at the families involved and to open up more information for the many local people interested in their family history.”
For more information on Gloucestershire Archives and the Gloucestershire Family History Society, which are both based at the Heritage Hub in Alvin Street, Gloucester, please visit: https://www.heritagehub.org.uk/