Hull Maritime

A citywide cultural regeneration and place-making project

Introduction

Hull Maritime is an ambitious programme transforming the way the city celebrates, shares and safeguards its relationship with the sea. Building on the momentum of Hull’s year as UK City of Culture 2017, we are working with Hull City Council on a holistic scheme to reconnect Hull to its prevalent maritime history.

Across the city centre and waterfront, the programme restores pride in landmark places, opens up previously hidden histories and strengthens the links between Hull Maritime Museum, Queen’s Gardens and the North End Shipyard. Together, these sites celebrate more than 800 years of trade, fishing, whaling, migration and exploration, while looking confidently towards Hull’s promising future.

Hull Maritime Museum

The reopening of Hull Maritime Museum in 2026 marks a major milestone for the city, returning one of Hull’s best-loved cultural buildings to public life with restored historic interiors, expanded galleries and a more accessible visitor experience. Initially built in the 1860s as Hull’s former Dock Offices in Queen Victoria Square, the Grade II* listed building took on many guises before being transformed into a museum in the 1970s.

Adjacent to the museum is the Dock Office Chambers, which were built in the 1890s, and, until recently, used as office and ad hoc storage space. We have converted the building into additional storage space, freeing up the museum to host more exhibitions. As a result, public space within the museum has been significantly increased, around 1,300 objects are accessible across galleries and open storage, and many major collections are on display for the first time. Immersive interpretation and hands-on experiences bring to life the people, industries and journeys that shaped Hull’s place in the world.

From the 40-foot North Atlantic right whale skeleton and internationally significant scrimshaw collection to stories of Arctic exploration, the museum combines the excitement of discovery with the careful conservation of a nationally important collection and building.

"The Maritime Museum has always held a special place in Hull’s civic life, but previously much of the building was hidden from public view, with a significant proportion given over to back-of-house use and only two of the four floors accessible. Our ambition was to unlock more of this remarkable setting, restoring its historic interiors, improving accessibility and creating the space needed for a richer, more engaging museum experience. To see the museum’s transformation now complete, reopened and full of life again is a hugely rewarding moment. It is a celebration of Hull’s maritime story, the pride people hold for the building, and the city’s ambition to share in their heritage."

– Owen Plummer, Associate Partner, Purcell

Visualisations of the citywide regeneration

Queen's Gardens

Queen’s Gardens has also been completed and reopened to the public, restoring and refreshing one of Hull’s most important open spaces. Once the site of Queen’s Dock, the gardens now play a renewed role in connecting the museum, the city centre and the wider Hull Maritime trail, reinforcing the city’s historic relationship with its waterfront.

The contemporary landscape strengthens the gardens as a welcoming civic space for residents, visitors and events. Improved routes, enhanced accessibility, new planting and upgraded public realm support gathering and celebration while also creating a greener, more inviting setting for everyday life.

North End Shipyard

At the North End Shipyard, work is ongoing to create a new visitor destination around the Arctic Corsair, Hull’s last remaining sidewinder trawler. This new site will bring together the restored historic vessel, a new Passivhaus-certified visitor centre and the shipyard setting to tell the story of Hull’s deep-water fishing tradition.

The visitor centre is designed to be net zero carbon in use and sensitive to its industrial context, reflecting the wider ambition to conserve the city’s heritage while setting new standards for resilient, sustainable cultural infrastructure.

When complete, the North End Shipyard will extend the Hull Maritime trail from Queen Victoria Square towards the waterfront, offering visitors the chance to explore the Arctic Corsair inside, outside and beneath. It will add another chapter to the citywide story, celebrating the skill, courage and communities behind Hull’s fishing past while creating a distinctive new destination for the future.