Unlocking hidden stories at Trinity House

Our Collections and Applied Conservation Team and the University of Stirling are working together as part of an AHRC funded Collaborative Doctoral Partnership. This project supports PhD candidate Alina Botezatu to undertake provenance research¹ into our collections at Trinity House Maritime Museum.

It reveals the diverse hidden stories, values, and meanings of the collections, and provides insight into how these stories can improve audience engagement. You can read more about one of our discoveries as part of this project below.

On the fireplace mantlepiece in the grand convening room of Trinity House, two unusual objects stand out among the many wonders on display: a dried flying fish fin and a seaweed bottle. Both have faded labels that record, in the same handwriting, ‘on board Loch Ryan’ and the year: 1904 for the fish fin, and 1905 for the seaweed bottle. The latter also includes ‘on passage from Sydney to London’. This was all the information available about these two objects, and therefore the ship Loch Ryan became the starting point for uncovering the stories behind these items. 

Research shows that between 1904 – 1905 the sailing ship Loch Ryan was on a return voyage between London and Sydney. The vessel was part of the commercial fleet of the company Aitken & Lilburn, later Glasgow Shipping Company. The company were also known as ‘Loch Line’ because all their sailing ships operating in colonial trade were named after Scottish Lochs.  

Someone aboard the ship decided that the flying fish fin and seaweed held specific meaning, so removed them from their original environment to be preserved for the future. Further research identified a book that includes a handwritten dedication: 'Presented by J R K Taylor Master June 1953. Served apprenticeship in Loch Ryan September 1904 to September 1908’. This note reveals the connection between the future Trinity House Master, J R K Taylor, and the ship Loch Ryan, on which he spent his apprenticeship years. It was this young apprentice who collected the flying fish fin and the seaweed on his first year at sea. There are also two photographs of Master Taylor in the collection, one of which records some biographical notes.  

Taylor was from a middle-class family with seafaring tradition, training to move up through the ranks and become a ship captain. Self-aware of the future ahead, it seems that he had been preserving the flying fish fin and seaweed from his first voyage as material records that document his early career. These objects testified his hard-earned qualification and have been displayed in Trinity House from the time of his leadership, ensuring his respected and long-lasting presence.  

But apprenticeship at sea was not a straightforward success story. It was a gruelling experience, particularly for lower class young men who had to complete demanding tasks in harsh conditions, often putting their life put their life at risk. On the same voyage where he collected the flying fish fin, Taylor witnessed a tragic accident, in which another apprentice had lost his life.  

Captain Taylor’s name is associated with at least 50 objects from Trinity House, and he played a major role in shaping the collection.