9 attractions have been given. 9 locations you should surely not miss. Now we are left with the best; the number 1 tourist attraction in the great City of London. There is only one maritime museum with the most items and richest history.

The National Maritime Museum

The museum, created by the National Maritime Act of 1934, is the best maritime museum and the largest of its kind in the world. Aside from the main museum building, it also incorporates the Royal Observatory of Greenwich (ROG) and the 17th-century Queen’s House.

Most of its collections came from the enormous donations of James Caird.

Sir James Caird of Glenfarquhar

James Caird was born in 1864 in Glasgow, Scotland. When he was in his mid twenties, young James went to London to work for the firm that managed the Scottish Shire Line, Turnbull, Martin & Co. Due to his innate intelligence and enormous passion for the industry, he soon became the owner of the Scottish Shire Line – after just four years of service in the company.

His company made great contributions to the maritime industry. They were the ones responsible for the United Kingdom’s open trade with Australia and New Zealand. In 1916, during World War I, Caird built a shipyard in a faraway city in Wales called Chepstow, which is found 124 miles west of London. The area was located away from enemy attack, which enabled them to quickly build ships that could replace the losses from the war. This great contribution to the cause of the Royal Navy led to a government buy-out the following year.

James Caird predicted that the industry’s profitability will dip tremendously after the war so he sold many of his shipping interests. To maintain profit, he remained chairman of the Smithfield and Argentine Meat Company and continued to hold significant number of founders’ shares. But he could not leave the shipping industry totally. This is where his heart remained and he continued to be the director for 25 companies that had something to do with shipping, shipbuilding, and maritime trade.

Having accumulated a significant fortune, he became interested in preserving the country’s naval and shipping memorials. As a member of the Society for Nautical Research, an organization formed to promote maritime history as an academic field in the United Kingdom, he provided for the cost of restoring HMS Victory in the 1920s. Thanks to him and his £65,000, it is now the oldest naval ship still in commission.

In 1927, there was great interest in establishing a national museum for preserving and displaying Britain’s rich maritime history. Of course, Sir James Caird was one of the first people who was more than excited to work towards that goal. With the help of the Society for Nautical Research, a board of trustees was established and Caird was one of the first people on board. When the Royal Hospital School moved from Greenwich to Suffolk, the school’s old buildings were abandoned. Sir James Caird shelled out £80,000 to renovate these buildings into a museum. At the same time, he began purchasing historical artifacts, rare books, globes, nautical instruments, artwork, and shipmodels to help start the collection. According to research, all these items amounted to £300,000.

Parliament passed the National Maritime Museum Act and three years later King George VI formally opened the museum. Sir James Caird continued to donate items to the collection.

The Collections

Astronomical & navigational instruments

The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is home to a large collection of astronomical and navigational instruments - including about 400 globes and armillary spheres, 40 sundials, 360 telescopes, 70 astrolabes and 40 quadrants.

Most of the items are from the last 300 years. While some, like the oldest astrolabes are up to 800 years old. Many of astronomical and navigational instruments are housed in the ROG, which was founded by King Charles II himself in 1675. Maritime travels have always depended on effective navigation and many of the objects in this collection are proof of man’s attempts to use the stars to determine his position in the vast open waters of the world.

Charts & maps

The NMM holds more than 100,000 sea charts and maps dating from the medieval period to the present day. These charts and maps document many of man’s expeditions of exploration and discovery throughout history. The vast differences in the items reveal how navigation and surveying techniques have developed through time. Although the collection focuses on charting the seas and coastlines, land maps are also included. Together, these maps illustrate the work of the leading hydrographers and cartographers throughout the entire history of charting and mapmaking.

Coins & medals

A fisherman’s charm from Switzerland

There are around 5,000 coins and medals in the NMM collection. The entire collection came from a group of private medal collectors that had an interest in naval history. George Montagu, 9th Earl of Sandwich (1874-1962) presented his private collection to the Museum during the 1930s. It included foreign commemorative medals, Roman coins and a collection of French counters or jetons. He also produced a published catalogue that forms the basis of our online collection.

Most of the Museum’s trade tokens came from the collection of H. H. Brindley. Other items were presented by Sir James Caird and Queen Mary. After the Second World War, the Museum concentrated on collecting war medals, gallantry medals and other awards.

Most of the coins and medals date from the 15th to the 20th century. It includes Orders from all over the world. An Order is a decoration, awarded by a government, a dynastic house, or a religious body to an individual for distinguished service to their cause. Aside from these, British war and gallantry medals and art medals from Europe and North and South America are also on display.

Some of the prized pieces include: a medal showing the track of Sir Francis Drake’s circumnavigation (he was a navigator from the Elizabethan era, knighted by Queen Elizabeth I); World War I German medals; and a Victoria Cross awarded to Captain Sir William Peel (the Victoria Cross is the most prestigious award for courage can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces).

Decorative art

The NMM decorative art collection includes silver, ceramics, furniture, glass, jewelry, textiles and craftwork. The total number of items in the collection is almost 6,000 - dating from the 18th century onwards.

The value of the pieces range from priceless to inexpensive to disposable souvenirs considered as fashionable at their time. Commemorative materials peaked production towards the end of the 18^th century and continued to the early 19^th century. Most of the decorative pieces came from that time period. Of the 6,000 objects, 2,000 are British ceramics.

Perhaps the most important pieces of this collection are those from Admiral Horatio Nelson (of the Napoleonic Wars, most notably of the Battle of Trafalgar) and his family. Many items, such as engraved silver associated with the Admiral, form what is known as the Greenwich Hospital Collection.

In 1948, priceless decorative art that were kept by the 5th Earl Nelson at Trafalgar House were purchased by the government and was added to the NMM. John Walter of Norwich also lent his large private collection of commemorative items, including several Nelson souvenirs. These were later purchased by the NMM. Same goes for commemorative items borrowed from Sir Henry Sutcliffe Smith in 1946, they were also purchased in 1974.

Figureheads

The figureheads and ornamental carving collection traces the development of the art from the late 17th to the early 20th century. A figurehead is a carved full-length figure built into the bow of a ship. An example is this figurehead from HMS Ajax:

The NMM holds what is probably the only important figurehead and ornamental carving collection in the world. It includes a wide variety of materials - from simple scrollwork and ship badges to very large items figureheads and stern galleries. Although naval figureheads form the bulk of the collection, the NMM also holds other forms of decoration from numerous water vessels.

The origins of the figurehead and its other counterparts began in prehistoric times. The decoration of ships and other vessels was common among seafaring civilizations of the ancient world - evidenced by the Egyptian pieces of the collection which date to as old as 3,000 BC. Although the exact reason for placing these figures on the bow of a ship is unknown, it could be inferred that these representations had significance to those of that time; perhaps symbolizing the need for a ship to be guided safely in its journeys across the open seas. In Europe, figureheads were almost always used by the Greeks and Romans, and so did the Viking longboats. The French and English used dragons and other mythical beasts as figureheads in their vessels.

The lion was the most commonly used figurehead across much of Europe from the 17th until the mid-18th century (only then did individual designs became more prevalent). It was an obvious choice for Royal Navy warships: not only was it a fierce predator, but it was also a national symbol and formed part of the monarch’s coat of arms. There are a number of lion figureheads in the NMM collection, and most of them could not be identified with a specific vessel since the figure was widely used during its time.

Film archive

The NMM has a collection of over 1,500 sea documentaries that date back to as early as 1910. more modern films offer a unique view of coastal resorts and ports both in the United Kingdom and abroad.

Fine art

The most famous piece of art in the collection is the Battle of Trafalgar by Joseph Mallord William Turner (1805)

The NMM fine art collection includes over 4,500 oil paintings and over 60,000 prints, drawings and watercolors; as well as contemporary art, miniatures, photography and sculpture.

The oil paintings date back from the year 1530 up until 2000 – with the earliest being a painting of Portuguese ships by a Flemish artist.

Marine painting was firmly established in England in the mid-18th century. It is represented in the collection with works by Peter Monamy, Samuel Scott, Charles Brooking, Dominic Serres and many others. The paintings were not only of ships and the sea, but also of sea battles (like the Seven Years War of 1756).

Then there are important portraits, the earliest of which date from the Tudor and Stuart period – which includes major portraits of the Royal Family by Peter Lely. Also of importance are the flagmen of Lowestoft series commissioned by James Duke of York after the battle in 1665. There are portraits of naval officers of the 18^th century, made by Hogarth, Reynolds and Gainsborough. Some of the more notable pieces are those of William Hodges – which he made during and after Captain Cook’s second voyage to the South Seas in 1772.

After that time, in the late 18th century and through to the 19th century, so-called “ship portraits” became popular. These pieces eventually came to great value when they were used for the study of merchant shipping and trade.

J. M. W. Turner’s painting of the Battle of Trafalgar (pictured above) was made for George IV in 1823. This was the largest painting ever made by Turner.

As for the late 19^th century and early 20^th century - the pieces are mostly the work of William Lionel Wyllie, Charles Dixon and John Everett. The collection also includes works by Richard Eurich, Henry Lamb and John Worsley. And for the late 20^th century, the art collection comprises of works by L.S. Lowry, Alfred Wallis, Edward Wadsworth and others, as well as by recently commissioned pictures by John Wonnacott and Humphrey Ocean.

Flags

The National Maritime Museum has over 1,000 flags - including two large collections of house flags which were used in the past to identify the owners of vessels and the company that a ship belongs to. They were introduced in the late 18^th century to enable the owner to recognize and prepare as their vessels approached ports. During the early part of the 19^th century, during the expansion of world trade shipping, commercial house flags were seen in ports throughout the world.

The house flag of the owner, together with a pennant with the name of the vessel were always on display on merchant ships (usually on the mainmast) during the 19th century. There are also a few name pennants in the collections.

Aside from the merchant ensign, signal flags were also used. These signal flags were one of the most important forms of communication in the sea – it was used famously by Admiral Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar; communicating the message: “England expects that every man will do his duty.” The NMM also has many signal flag code books.

Some of the prized flags include: Captain Scott’s sledge flag and those of other polar expeditions, the ensign of the Spanish vessel San Ildefonso captured at Trafalgar, the unusual White Ensign of HMS Brunswick and the Union flag used by Lord Howe on the Queen Charlotte at the Battle of the First of June in 1794.

Historic photographs

The NMM holds the United Kingdom’s finest collection of historic maritime photographs. Their prints and negatives date back to the 1840s - during the humble beginnings of photography.

The collection covers every maritime subject - from British and foreign war and merchant ships to seaports, river and coastal views, and shipyards. The collection includes work by photographers such as W.H. Fox Talbot (he has the oldest photograph: Brunel’s iron screw steamship Great Britain taken in April 1844), Alan Villiers and Bedford Lemere. It includes portraits of the world’s most famous ships, from Aquitania to Zweena.

There are approximately 270,000 negatives (glass, nitrate and safety film) and 1,000,000 prints in 1,463 albums. Every sphere of maritime life is recorded in the collections, from the very beginnings of photography with Fox Talbots studio’s hazy to the present day.

Library & manuscripts

The Library (named after NMM’s principal founder and benefactor Sir James Caird) contains over 140,000 books and periodicals. It has the world’s largest and most important collection of manuscripts dedicated to archive maritime history. aside from the books, there are also 20,000 pamphlets, 20,000 bound periodicals (which includes 200 current titles) and 8,000 rare books dating from 1474 to 1850.

The Library is staffed by a team of professional librarians and subjects specialists who are available to help and advise readers at all times. The Caird Library’s contents range over every aspect of maritime history: emigration, navigation, piracy, astronomy, shipping companies, shipwrecks, biographies, the two world wars, horology, merchant and Royal Navy. There are special collections for researching family history, merchant shipping and warships.

Franklin Relics

Here is one of the medals found by Lieutenant Frederick Schwatka in 1878

The NMM has over 270 relics from Sir John Franklin’s last expedition. The Franklin Expedition is the worst disaster in the history of British polar exploration. It occurred with the total loss of two naval vessels: Erebus and Terror, together with all their crews.

The objective of the voyage was to sail through the North West Passage and carry out magnetic observations. It was led by Sir John Franklin. His second in command, Captain Rawdon Moira Crozier manned the HMS Terror, while Commander James Fitzjames manned the HMS Erebus. The expedition sailed from the Thames on May 19, 1845 and it was last sighted off the coast of Greenland two months later.

Following the disappearance of the two ships, a series of search expeditions were sent out. In 1854, Dr. John Rae brought back stories that the expedition had perished somewhere to the west of the Back River. Then, a privately-funded expedition under Captain F.L. McClintock verified the expedition’s route and the claim that it had traversed a previously unexplored sea route. Most of the expedition’s documents remained missing and encouraged some later searches such as that led by Lieutenant Frederick Schwatka of the United States Army in 1878.

The majority of Dr. John Rae’s finds were handed over to the Admiralty by the Hudson Bay Company. They were then given to Greenwich Hospital for display in the Painted Hall in 1854. The McClintock material, initially displayed at the Royal United Services Museum, was later moved to the Royal Naval Museum in Greenwich, and then material from the Schwatka expeditions was added. All these relics were then transferred to the NMM when during its opening.

Ship models

The NMM has probably the best ship model collection in the world - with almost 3,200 models. It has all types: ethnographic, Navy Board, half-block, builder’s, design, waterline and full hull models. And a huge variety of vessels dating from the 16th century to the present day: schooners, steam yachts, paddle yachts, lifeboats, curraghs, cutters, fishing vessels, luggers, and trawlers. There are also topographical models of dockyards and ports.

The models date back to the early 19^th century when Sir Robert Seppings, a naval architect, founded a national collection of ship models at Somerset House. The collection was relocated to Kensington in the 1860s, to the Royal Naval College in the 1870s, and finally to the NMM on its opening. There it was joined by models from the Greenwich Hospital Collection and the Mercury Collection. Of course, there were also acquisitions by Sir James Caird.

Since its foundation, the Museum has acquired models from many sources, most notably the R. C. Anderson Collection, the Royal Navy, the Royal United Services Institution and the Science Museum.

Ship plans

The NMM looks after the largest single collection of original ship plans in the world – a total of one million plans from the early 18^th century to the present day.

Timekeeping

John Harrison’s marine timekeeper H4

Timekeeping is one of the specialties of the NMM. The collection of 1,000 objects is the finest in the world.

It includes accurate portable and marine chronometers: time-measuring instruments used in navigation that keep precise time at all temperatures. The collection also contains many clocks with complex astronomical indications and astronomical regulators - used with a transit telescopes to make accurate astronomical observations. They also have clocks and watches associated with famous naval figures and events.

The highlight of the collection is the famous series of marine timekeepers by John Harrison, including the prize-winning H4 which he began working on in 1755. Then there are the timekeepers by London watchmaker John Arnold – who was first to employ the term chronometer in the modern sense and successfully found a way to simplify Harrison’s timekeeper design.

Uniforms

Admiral Nelson’s undress coat - the one he was wearing when he died by musket at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805

The extensive NMM uniform collection holds over 7,000 items of regulation dress, ratings’ clothing, ceremonial wear and accessories. These include uniforms worn by Admiral Nelson, Edward VII, 1st Earl Beatty and Admiral John Arbuthnot Fisher.

The majority of the merchant uniforms date from the 20^th century - including the standard uniform used in 1918 and those relating to particular shipping lines. The merchant uniforms include a small number of those of the Honourable East India Company.

Weapons

The weapons collection of the NMM includes firearms, ordnance and edged weapons (swords and daggers). It also has examples of cannons, cannon balls, shot, mortars and howitzers ranging from the 18^th century to the more advanced 19^th and 20^th century inventions. The firearms include 18^th century sea service pistols and guns of 20^th century, including those used in the World Wars. The edged weapons comprises of over 600 swords including regulation and presentation types. There are a number of ethnographic weapons such as spears and bows and arrows brought back from earlier expeditions.

The Peter Harrison Planetarium

The NMM is home to London’s one and only planetarium, which features Europe’s first digital planetarium projector. The new state-of-the-art planetarium is found in the Astronomy Centre of the ROG. Entry fee is £6 for adults and £4 for children. Family ticket is available for £16.00 – this is good for 2 adults with 2 children or 1 adult with 3 children.

There are five different shows to choose from:

Black Holes: The other side of infinity

Weekdays: 15.00 / Weekends, school and bank holidays: 12.00 / July and August weekends: 12.00, 17.00

In this spectacular show, discover the early universe, witness star birth and death and the collision of galaxies and fly into a massive black hole lurking at the hear of the Milky Way. Narrated by Liam Neeson.

Sky Tonight Live

Weekdays: 13.00, 16.00

Presented live by a Royal Observatory astronomer, you will be taken on a tour of what you can see for yourself in tonight’s night sky.

Stargazing for Beginners

Weekends, school and bank holidays: 13.00

Come on a fantastic tour of the night sky tailored for younger visitors, presented live by a Royal Observatory astronomer. Recommended for children 5+

Star Life

Daily shows: 14.00

This visually-stunning show looks at the lives of stars – how they are born, grow up, grow old and die; how black-holes and pulsars form and how beautiful clouds of glowing gas come into existence. Hosted by real astronomers who are available to answer questions after the main programme.

Secret of the cardboard rocket

Weekends, school and bank holidays: 11.00, 15.00

With state of the art 3D-animation and spectacular effects, this show is a must-see attraction for visiting family groups. Recommended for children 5+

Tourist Info

The National Maritime Museum (including the Queen’s House and the ROG) is open daily from 10.00 in the morning to 5.00 in the afternoon. All sites are closed from the 24^th to 26^th of December. Entrance to all sites are free.

The NMM is found in Greenwich, Romney Road, London SE10 9NF. There are frequent Docklands Light Railway (DLR) trips into Maritime Greenwich. The nearest DLR station to the NMM is Cutty Sark. You can call the DLR at +44 (0)20 7918 4000 for more info.

It is recommended to use the River Thames when going to NMM (to complete the maritime experience!). The route passes the Palace of Westminster (Big Ben), London Eye, St Paul’s Cathedral, Shakespeare’s Globe, The Tower of London, Tower Bridge and the riverside inns. Arrival at Greenwich by water shows the perfect view of the grand architecture of Greenwich. The single journey takes between 30-60 minutes. Sightseeing cruises are operated from Waterloo Millennium, Westminster and Tower piers; while Riverline river bus services operate from Embankment, Bankside, London Bridge, Tower, Masthouse (Canary Wharf), Greenwich and QE2 (The O₂) piers.

Below is a detailed map of Greenwich: