Hull Maritime: New branding for £30.3m heritage project

Yorkshire’s only maritime city is inviting people on a voyage of discovery as it embarks on a wide-ranging and enduring cultural programme celebrating its nautical heritage.

And Hull’s adventure starts today, with a new branding and logo, giving a distinct and memorable visual identity to the £30.3m project: Hull Maritime.

The logo is made up of five different symbols to make a striking image, although each site will have its own identity.

City council leader, Councillor Daren Hale, said: “The launch of this distinct and connected brand identity for our five sites and two ships, is all about revealing the new look of this exciting project, the sites and the cultural and creative programme.

“Our new identity will drive us forward to make Hull’s maritime attractions more inclusive and engaging, belonging to the city’s communities, and a source of pride and inspiration.

“Promoting the city’s maritime heritage helps us to celebrate our past and present and look forward to the future and this is thanks to funding from Hull City Council and The National Lottery Heritage Fund.”

The logo was created by Haley Sharpe Design (hsd), whose director, Deev Vadher, said: “We felt that it was vital to create a dynamic identity which connects the various sites, the city, and most importantly, connects to people.”

Featuring the transformation of historic maritime sites and assets, Hull Maritime will deliver the city’s biggest programme of events, attractions, and activities since Hull was UK City of Culture in 2017.

‘WANTS TO TELL HER STORY’: Arctic Corsair being moved for renovation

It is estimated that once all physical elements are complete in spring 2025, the new maritime experience will add £5.5m to the local economy each year, as well as firmly establishing the city’s reputation as a tourist destination with national and international appeal.

The fun begins in just over a fortnight when the city stages The Awakening, a spectacular two-day maritime-themed event across city centre sites.

A partnership between Hull City Council and Freedom Festival Arts Trust, The Awakening will mark a turning point for the city and its people; both in the seasonal change from winter to spring, and also the emergence from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Awakening, which it is hoped will become an annual festival, takes place over two consecutive evenings beginning on March 18, and promises to embrace Hull’s maritime heritage, folklore and mythology, and our relationship with the environment.

The highlights will include a “mesmerising” installation recreating the experience of the Northern Lights over the Rose Bowl near Queen’s Gardens.

“It’s going to be a really interesting festival at a time when it’s often quite quiet,” said Gillian Osgerby, Hull Maritime project director, speaking exclusively to The Hull Story. “It will be a bit spooky, a bit quirky. The Rosebowl will look absolutely incredible.

“It’s a brand new event for spring and the first spring festival Freedom are doing. We are hoping it’s going to continue on an annual basis. It’s going to be really exciting to see what the reaction is.”

The Awakening follows on from the success the Hull Kraken last August, which brought 2.4 million extra visitors to the city centre compared to the same period pre-pandemic in 2019.

This summer will see the completion of the refurbishment of Dock Office Chambers, the first part of the maritime infrastructure to be finished, which will be used to house the Maritime Museum’s reserve collection.

NEW PURPOSE: Dock Office Chambers

But most of the main attractions - the renovation of Arctic Corsair, North End Shipyard, Spurn Lightship, and that of maritime sister project, Queens Gardens - are due for completion in autumn 2023.

The Grade II*-listed museum itself, a centrepiece of the maritime experience, is scheduled for completion in spring 2025.

Arctic Corsair, Hull’s last sidewinder trawler, will continue its role as a visitor and educational attraction, being the only vessel of its kind in the country consistently open to the public.

She, and the equally important Spurn Lightship, are being carefully and lovingly restored by specialists at Dunston’s shipyard in Hull.

They will each be moved to their final berths in spring next year - Arctic Corsair to North End Shipyard, and Spurn Lightship to Hull Marina, where she will be moored close to the Holiday Inn and the city’s iconic new footbridge, Murdoch’s Connection, which gives pedestrians easy access to the marina.

‘WE’RE VERY PROUD OF BEING A MODERN MARITIME CITY’: Gillian Osgerby, project director of Hull Maritime, pictured in front of Spurn Lightship

Both vessels will give visitors a feel of what it was like to be on board when they were working, with Arctic Corsair, in particular offering a “very immersive experience”, Mrs Osgerby said.

“We want it to feel like it was when you’re on board – you open a drawer and there’s cutlery in there; open a cupboard and there’s jumpers in there, so it feels like it did for those on board.”

Country & Western music will be playing in the canteen because the trawler was so far from home when fishing American stations were the only ones picked up by the radio.

Mrs Osgerby said: “When I first became project director the curator gave me a guided tour and was explaining the environment and you just got goosebumps.

“The canteen was the communal space, and there’s something really poignant in seeing where the cabin boy slept in a tiny bunk, and you compare that to the spaciousness of the captain’s cabin. It’s a fantastic insight into day-to-day life.

INTEREST: People gather to watch Spurn Lightship being towed away for refurbishment

“And from the window in the wheelhouse you realise how small a view they had outside. You see how terrifying it must have been watching the waves crash over.

“I do think it’s got a personality and wants to tell us what she’s seen and experienced, and for us as a team it’s about being custodians of that and reflecting that memory.”

Spurn Lightship had a very different role, but it’s hardy crew also endured tough and perilous conditions.

Double-hulled and “built to withstand enormous forces”, the lightship was manned by a crew of six or eight, 365 days a year.

Visitors will be able to climb a bespoke spiral staircase up into the light for the first time. “It will add so much to the visitor experience; to be able to get into spaces that have never been open before – it feels a bit naughty, really,” Mrs Osgerby said.

PRESERVED: Hull’s last Scotch Derrick crane would have been lost without the intervention of the Hull Maritime project

Also being restored for display in North End Shipyard is Hull’s last remaining Scotch Derrick crane, which was used to load and unload ships.

It was in better than expected condition when dismantled for restoration, but “without the intervention of the project it would without a doubt have been lost”, Mrs Osgerby said. “This is protecting again one of Hull’s key maritime assets.”

As well as telling the story of what life was like on Arctic Corsair, the new, two-storey visitor centre at North End shipyard will be one of the most energy efficient buildings in the UK’s cultural and heritage sector.

Designed by architect Purcell, it is being built to ‘Passivhaus’ standards – a German model which reduces a building’s energy consumption and requires very little energy to heat. This method achieves savings of up to 90 per cent compared to a typical new building.

SPLENDOUR: The ornate walls and ceilings at Hull’s Maritime Museum

A crucial aspect of the maritime project is the £11.7m redevelopment of Queens Gardens, which will provide the pedestrian link between the Maritime Museum and North End Shipyard.

This will feature an imaginative tree-planting scheme in and around the gardens, using species that can cope with changes in climate, and native trees.

Some of the planting is to replace trees in poor condition, or which will have to be removed to enable structural repairs - but for every tree removed, three will be planted either in the gardens or in other city centre locations.

The initial stage of the redevelopment will see the planting of the first Metasequoia tree – a species of conifer known as redwoods. Metasequoia trees are fast-growing and can grow to 30 metres in height.

The gardens have their own place in Hull’s maritime history, being located on the site of the former Queens Dock, which was the largest of its kind in the country when constructed in the 1770s.

LOOKING AHEAD: An artist’s impression of the redeveloped Queens Gardens

Mrs Osgerby said Hull Maritime was about celebrating the city’s journey from being a maritime powerhouse to its new role as a centre for green energy, while also looking ahead.

She said: “It’s about being really proud of what Hull is and shouting about it on a wider stage, about shining a light on its maritime past and future-proofing it.

“It’s about making the most of what we’ve had all along and making the investment in our future. We are very proud of the fact we are a modern maritime city. We look out of Hull to Europe and we are putting ourselves on a global platform.

“It’s a fantastic moment in time to be able to reflect on where we’ve come from but also to where we’re going. The engagement side is really important too. We are quite conscious people need to come along with us – it’s not about doing it for them, it’s doing it with them.”

The National Lottery Heritage Fund has provided £13.6m of the £30.3m cost of the maritime project, with most of the remainder coming from the city council.

The project is still seeking partnerships with funders, trusts and businesses to reach a fundraising target of £2.6m, and has achieved £1.04m of that so far. Anyone wanting to provide support to Hull Maritime Foundation can do so here.