What are Heritage Harbours?
In our increasingly inter-connected world it’s easy to forget that we are an island. But who we are and what we think has been shaped by seafarers and their cargoes over the last 2,000 years, from the Romans to the Empire Windrush. The history of ports and voyages is part of us. Sometimes modern development makes that history hard to find so we need to safeguard and cherish the historic warehouses, docks and old ships that were such a focal point of our towns and cities.
Fourteen of these historic harbours and inland ports are now part of the Heritage Harbours project, supported by National Historic Ships, Historic England and The Maritime Heritage Trust. The aim is to support local groups to help safeguard and conserve our most historic locations and the buildings, quays, shipyards, and vessels that make them special.
The two most recent, Gloucester Docks and Ramsgate Royal Harbour, came on board with great fanfare during Heritage Open Days 2024. They joined Bideford, Bristol, Buckler’s Hard, Chester, Exeter, Faversham and Oare Creeks, Ipswich, Maldon and Heybridge, Sandwich, Shardlow, Stourport, and Wells next the Sea.
The Heritage Harbour idea came originally from Holland and Germany where ‘museum harbours’ were created by offering free berths to suitable vessels on public display.
In today’s world, a placard with historical information on the vessel is not enough. The great thing is that Heritage Harbour teams are actively engaging visitors through attractively telling the wider story of the place, people and the full range of local maritime heritage – cultural as well as physical.
Ramsgate – the Royal harbour
Ramsgate’s Royal Harbour is Grade II* listed and is the only royal harbour in the world, an honour bestowed by King George IV in 1821. Its history dates back to pre-Roman times, and its 450+ listed buildings bear witness to a lively past. In the Napoleonic wars it was a base for the Sea Fencibles (naval defence units) and in the First World War for the Dover Patrol. During the Second World War it was the landing place for many of the soldiers brought home from Dunkirk by the ‘Little Ships’.
Today the Royal Harbour combines its maritime heritage with the activities of a 21st century harbour and a thriving waterfront café culture. Many historic boats and ships on the National Register can be seen, including steam tug Cervia and the trawler Starbuck.
In Spring 2025 Ramsgate’s Royal Harbour will host the 85th anniversary return of the Dunkirk Little Ships, with over 50 of the original vessels, and around 100 other historic watercraft.
Ipswich – the photographic harbour
A picture tells us so much more than a thousand words – and the atmospheric black and white photos in the Ipswich Maritime Trust’s (IMT) Image Archive speak volumes about life on the docks in Victorian times in England’s oldest continually occupied town. Some of the rarest, and earliest images ever taken were of the new Wet Dock (constructed in 1842 and then the largest in the country) by local artist and pioneering photographer Robert Burrows. The Archive holds these and also includes large format original negatives dating back to the 1840s, made by local Ipswich chemist John Wiggin.
Most of these old photos have been digitised and can be viewed on the website and in the IMT’s 24 hour Window Museum on Albion Wharf, which is currently displaying the history of the Wet Dock. One of the earliest images ever taken has been used in a special commemorative postcard available from the Trust, and they’ve also created a stunning display of enlarged photos from the Archives, which can be seen during Heritage Open Days and other festivals.
Shardlow – the inland port
Unlike the other heritage harbours, Shardlow Inland Port is nowhere near the sea and it’s actually a village of just a few hundred houses. Yet its heritage festival attracts over 11,000 visitors and is organised by a small group led by the pioneering Sue Hampson.
The earliest evidence of boating activity along the River Trent in Shardlow dates back 3,400 years to the Bronze Age with the discovery of a wooden log boat believed to be used to ship dressed stone. Today the village of Shardlow is home to some of the best examples of 18th century canal architecture in the UK. The Trent & Mersey canal, designed by James Brindley, was completed in 1777, enabling water-borne trade with Cheshire, Derbyshire and the Humber.
Find out more
Today, these heritage harbours and inland ports are lovely places to visit. But why not get involved with your local Heritage Harbour groups and help ensure that future generations have something to enjoy too?!
