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Captain Matthew Webb (1848–1883): the first person to swim the Channel
Captain Matthew Webb was the first person to swim across the English Channel unaided. Using our library and archive collections we research the life of this extraordinary man.
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Catharine Dowman and the preservation of Cutty Sark
There are few influential female figures in Cutty Sark's story but one notable character is Catharine Dowman, née Courtauld.
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Commemorating Hercules Linton
Hercules Linton was the man who designed Cutty Sark.
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When is dawn?
Getting up 'at the crack of dawn' is not something enjoyed by many, but for some religions, dawn has a much larger significance.
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A rum deal: The origins of Nelson’s blood
Rum has long been a part of Britain's maritime heritage - but what is the real history of Nelson's Blood? Find out more about rum and the Navy below.
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Who won the Battle of Jutland?
Curator Andrew Choong tries to make sense of the First World War's greatest sea battle.
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Black Poppies – Britain’s Black Community and the Great War
Author and historian Stephen Bourne shares stories of the African and Caribbean Royal and Merchant Navy personnel who served in the First World War.
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The ‘Armada’ portrait and Elizabethan propaganda
What was the legacy of the defeat of the Spanish Armada and Elizabeth I's famous Tilbury speech, and what can the Armada Portrait tell us about it?
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Dying on their own terms: suicides aboard slave ships
On International Slavery Remembrance Day, our curator, Aaron Jaffer, remembers those forced to take their own lives during the horrific Middle Passage