Museum blog

Across the museum’s collections can be found various objects and items related to the exploits of the renowned canoeist John MacGregor (1825-1892). However, our archives contain a small collection of manuscripts documenting his escape as a baby from a burning ship, the Kent.

In this blog we recall a Victorian explosion on London’s inland waterways which conferred an unusual nickname on the bridge which stood in the way of the blast. The Macclesfield Bridge disaster of 1874 resulted in death and destruction and the passing of an Act of Parliament.

100 years on from the explorer's death, a sledge used during Shackleton's Nimrod expedition has found a new home in the National Maritime Museum. Curator Jeremy Michell looks back on the efforts to save this important polar relic for the nation.

In February 2020, the three surviving Armada portraits of Queen Elizabeth I went on display together for the first time in their history. As the National Portrait Gallery’s portrait leaves Greenwich, we reflect on what we learned from bringing the three paintings together.

Looking back at nearly two years of strict (but necessary) measures of quarantine, lockdown and other medical regulations, we will come to find that, for an island who deals in trade with other countries, plague is not a new thing. Though COVID-19 is the latest pandemic in a long history of medical challenges, we have plenty of historic experience in dealing with these types of disasters. From the Great Plague to parliamentary acts, we take a look through our collection to explore the practice of quarantine.

Natasha Lambert is the first person to skipper a boat across the Atlantic using ‘sip-and-puff’ technology. At the National Maritime Museum we are honoured to welcome her helmet and gloves into our collection, and be able to share Natasha’s story.

Find out more about Sir James Caird, the National Maritime Museum's founding benefactor.