Exhibition makes Isle of Man maritime stories 'accessible'

The wreck of HMS Racehorse is thought to have inspired the RNLI's creation

A new exhibition highlighting 300 years of shipwrecks around the Manx coast will "make their stories accessible".

All At Sea has been put on display at the House of Manannan in Peel by Manx National Heritage.

It coincides with the 200th anniversary of the RNLI, which was founded as a result of efforts by Manx resident Sir William Hillary.

Curator Allison Fox said it would shine a light on the island's "significant" underwater heritage.

The exhibition includes a terracotta pot found on a Manx beach by Archibald Knox

About 2,000 shipwrecks have been recorded in the seas around the island, with almost 1,800 of those in Manx territorial waters.

The artefacts featured in the exhibition include a rolling pin made from a piece of wood recovered from the wreck of a cargo ship, pieces of pottery, cannonballs, and gunflints.

There are also artefacts relating to Sir William Hillary and the formation of the RNLI, along with medals awarded to lifeboatmen for their rescue efforts.

A scale model of the Solway Harvester scallop dredger, which sank off the coast of Douglas in 2000 with the loss of all seven crew on board, has also been put on display.

The model was constructed for use at the inquest into the deaths of the Solway Harvester's crew

Ms Fox said: "We don't have a huge holding of artefacts from under the sea partly because of preservation.

"It's not the most hospitable environment down there, but what we do have I think is significant.

"When we talk about historic sites on land, for example Mull Circle and King Orry's Grave, we can talk about those and people can go and see them.

"With the underwater heritage, with the shipwreck sites, very few people actually get to see those actual sites.

"So I think it's important for us to display the objects from those sites and to try and make at least their stories accessible."

The exhibition will be on display until 5 January 2025.

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