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The word 'Museum' used to conjure up very different images to those it
evokes today. Only two or three decades ago, many of the world's
collections of national and/or international importance seemed to be
largely in the hands of crabby, insular curators, who reluctantly
allowed 'the public' (don't forget to curl the lip slightly when
pronouncing those words) to view them. The visitors would find
themselves whispering, as though in a library or at a funeral. Children,
bored by acres of tatty looking objects in glass cases and forbidden to
scamper about or make any noise grew fractious and many learned to hate
all things historical as a result of frustrating, wasted holiday hours,
being dragged around 'culture'.
Today, the vast majority of the museums of the world offer
interactive displays, an atmosphere of relaxed enjoyment, multi-media
presentations and all the fun the average child could possibly want.
Many museums offer free admission and hope visitors will contribute
something towards the upkeep in a discreetly placed container, or buy
handsome souvenirs, the profits from which can be used for the same
purposes.
Governments, in most countries, now recognize the value of a good museum
as a tourist attraction and funds may come from tax contributions or
even national lotteries. Philanthropic and wealthy individuals often
leave bequests in their last wills and testaments, in some cases leaving
all they possess to help ensure the preservation of some monument or
collection of memorabilia of importance.
On this page we hope to share information on any museum which is
devoted to matters nautical or any nautical display, archive or
collection which may be of interest and forms part of a wider
collection.
We start with the tiny but fascinating museum at Nelson's Dockyard in
English Harbour, Antigua, in the West Indies.
 Housed
in the building to the right of the picture which, like all the other
buildings in Nelson's Dockyard, is itself an historic building, the
museum affords visitors a glimpse into a world-altering past in
which this Harbour played such a strong role.
Horatio Nelson was stationed at English Harbour for two years and made
his mark there as strongly as anywhere.
There are excellent displays of things nautical on the ground
floor, including ship models and the original bellows from the
blacksmith's forge, all is well described and presented. The rôle of slaves
in the building of Nelson's Dockyard is documented as well as the
military establishment's activities.
 An activity room
for children on the ground floor should keep youngsters entertained for
quite some time and we were impressed by the thought and care which had
obviously gone into the room.
The souvenir shop is stocked with a brilliant array of goods,
some of the t-shirts are quite irresistible, amongst many other highly
tempting items on display.
  On
the upper floor there are displays of artifacts domestic and military, a
very interesting feature on the ways in which so many of the visitors to
the island succumbed to diseases now long since eradicated and to
inability to acclimatize to the fierce tropical heat of the late summer
months, August in particular.
There are some
excellent yacht models, fascinating architectural items and, the pièce
de resistance, a bed which, legend has it, was slept in by Horatio
Nelson himself. This, the accompanying placard states, is highly
unlikely, the bed being a Regency design but, it goes on, the legend persists and
the bed has its place in Nelson's room.
Interesting that the museum
doubts the authenticity of the bed when, in fact, it would have been a
new bed at exactly the time that Nelson might have slept in it and one
imagines the boss would be provided with the most modern furnishings
available. There are various other fascinating items around the room and
it is easy to imagine Nelson being there.
Contributions are invited in discreet containers on
both floors and we would urge visitors to be as generous as their
pockets will permit, in the interests of helping to keep the museum
there for future generations to enjoy.
Have you visited a naval museum lately? Care to
tell us about the visit? Have you seen a naval museum website? Some
are very good indeed, although nothing quite equals visiting a historic
site in person! A visit to the USS
Constitution is well worthwhile, for instance, when visiting the
East Coast of the USA - The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich,
London, U.K. is fascinating and we'd love to hear which are your
favourite museums and exhibits, anywhere in the world.
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