LIVERPOOL | Merseyside Maritime Museum ft. Piermaster’s House, Border Force National Museum and International Slavery Museum

Inspired by the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, we travelled by train to England in March. Combining ESC host city Liverpool with the industrial heritage of Manchester. Manchester to Liverpool was also the first steam railway line ever. A perfect pretext to travel to The North.

After the Museum of Liverpool and lunch at What’s Cooking, we visited the Merseyside Maritime Museum featuring the Piermaster’s House, the Border Force National Museum and the International Slavery Museum. Three museums at the same premises.

The Merseyside Maritime Museum focuses on the maritime history of Liverpool and the surrounding area. The museum is housed in a Grade II listed building at the Albert Dock, which was built in the 19th century and served as a bustling hub for international trade.

The museum has a wide range of exhibits that explore the history of Liverpool’s port and the people who lived and worked there. The exhibits cover topics such as the transatlantic slave trade, the Battle of the Atlantic during World War II, emigration and immigration, and the lives of seafarers.

One of the most popular exhibits at the Merseyside Maritime Museum is the International Slavery Museum, which is located on the third floor of the building. This exhibit explores the history of the transatlantic slave trade and its impact on Liverpool and the world.

Other notable exhibits at the museum include displays on the Titanic and the Lusitania, two famous ocean liners that met tragic ends, and the Border Force Cutter exhibit, which showcases the work of the UK Border Force in protecting the country’s coastline and waters.

Overall, the Merseyside Maritime Museum is an important cultural institution in Liverpool and offers visitors a fascinating insight into the city’s maritime history.

Features

‘Titanic and Liverpool: the untold story‘. Told from perspectives of key personalities in the drama, it gives a unique insight into events surrounding the launch, voyage, sinking and its aftermath. This exhibition includes personal stories capturing the dramatic final hours of Titanic, and the remarkable story of how the Cunard liner Carpathia rushed to the scene and rescued all of the survivors. Crew and passengers with Liverpool associations are featured and the social structure on board is examined.The exhibition takes a closer look at the aftermath of the sinking, including how Liverpool received the news and the impact it made, as well as the survivors and victims coming home, findings of the official inquiries and the heroes and anti-heroes made.
‘Life on Board‘. A permanent gallery exploring the moving and fascinating stories of Liverpool’s seafarers and passengers.
‘Lusitania: Life, Loss, Legacy‘. This major exhibition opened 100 years after the sinking of the Lusitania. Highlighting new research about the people involved in the Lusitania story, the display also considers the role of Liverpool’s liners in World War I. The sinking of Lusitania was one of the most horrific incidents at sea during the First World War (1914-18). The sinking of this unarmed passenger ship in 1915 caused international outrage. There were riots in Liverpool and London, as well as other cities around the world. The German government claimed that Lusitania was a legitimate target due to the war supplies she was carrying – as were many other British ships. However, British and American enquiries later declared the sinking to have been unlawful. Lusitania and her partner Mauretania were ordered by Cunard to restore British superiority over German ships in the Atlantic passenger trade.
‘On the Waterfront‘. Liverpool’s docks transformed the fortunes of the city. Their story is a 300 year journey that turned a small, regional port into one of the world’s great maritime centres.

The Piermaster’s House

The Piermaster’s House, 9 Albert Parade, was originally built in 1852 for the piermaster and his family. The piermaster was responsible for ensuring the safe passage of ships entering and leaving the dock at high tide.

The house was one of four built on this site, and was the only one left standing following the heavy bombings in the Second World War.

In 2003 it was transformed back into a wartime house, dressed with original period furniture and everyday objects like gas-masks and ration books reflecting the days of shortages and rationing.

Border Force National Museum

The Border Force National Museum is a museum within a museum, known as ‘Seized! The Border & Customs uncovered‘. This museum tells the story of taxation and enforcing taxation.

Obviously, people try to minimize, avoid or outrun taxation and that’s where border and custom services come in.

But border controls not only affect goods, also people. Migration is another aspect explored in this museum.

International Slavery Museum

The International Slavery Museum explores the history and legacy of the transatlantic slave trade, as well as contemporary issues related to slavery and human rights.

The museum was opened in 2007 and is part of the National Museums Liverpool group. It is located on the third floor of the Merseyside Maritime Museum.

The museum features exhibits and displays that cover various aspects of the slave trade, including the origins of slavery, the Middle Passage, the experience of enslaved Africans in the Americas, and the abolition of the slave trade. It also explores the impact of slavery on contemporary society, including issues related to racism, inequality, and social justice.

The museum’s collections include artifacts and objects related to the slave trade, such as slave chains and shackles, as well as art and contemporary exhibits exploring the legacy of slavery. The museum also offers educational programs and events aimed at increasing awareness and understanding of the history and impact of slavery.

So?

An extensive quartet of museums, the Maritime Museum and its three ‘roommates’ are more original than they sound. The Maritime Museum does not show lifesize ships, but cleverly focuses on other aspects of seafaring.

The Slavery Museum is particularly interesting. Many of us don’t know much about the slave trade. It’s an aspect of mankind’s history which has received way too little attention. It is now finding a place in our consciousness.

Allow two to three hours minimum.