About
Lancaster Maritime Museum is housed in the magnificent 18th-century Custom House on St George's Quay, a Grade I listed building designed by Richard Gillow (of the famous furniture-making family) and completed in 1764. The museum tells the compelling story of Lancaster's rise as one of England's most important ports during the Georgian era, its connections to the wider Atlantic world, and the communities whose lives were shaped by maritime trade and the sea.
The museum's galleries explore Lancaster's bustling quayside during its heyday in the 18th century, when ships sailed from St George's Quay laden with goods for the West Indies and returned with mahogany, sugar, rum, and cotton. The displays confront honestly Lancaster's significant involvement in the transatlantic slave trade, examining the city's role in trafficking enslaved Africans and the wealth this generated for Lancaster's merchants. Personal stories and documentary evidence bring this painful history to life, connecting global exploitation to local prosperity.
Beyond the Atlantic trade, the museum explores the fishing communities of Morecambe Bay, the ecology of the bay's unique landscape, and the development of the Lancaster Canal. Ship models, navigational instruments, trade goods, and personal possessions of seafarers fill the galleries, while the atmospheric setting of the Custom House itself evokes the maritime bustle of centuries past. The museum also examines the natural environment of Morecambe Bay, one of Britain's most important estuaries for wildlife, and the traditional industries that depended on its rich resources. Regular exhibitions and community events ensure the museum remains a vital link between Lancaster's maritime past and its present.
Categories:
Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
📅 Best Times to Visit
Quietest: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Busiest: Saturday
💡 Weekday afternoons for the quietest experience, especially during school term time
💡 Visitor Tips
- The Custom House itself is a highlight - take time to admire the Grade I listed Georgian architecture designed by Richard Gillow, with its elegant Palladian facade facing the River Lune.
- The slave trade exhibition is a powerful and important display. Allow time to engage thoughtfully with this significant but uncomfortable aspect of Lancaster's history.
- Combine your visit with Lancaster City Museum in the town centre (about 8 minutes' walk) for a comprehensive picture of Lancaster's heritage. Both museums are free.
- The riverside setting on St George's Quay is pleasant for a pre- or post-visit walk along the Lune. The Millennium Bridge and Lune Millennium Path are nearby.
- There is no cafe in the museum, but the Water Witch pub and The White Cross are both within a few minutes' walk along the quay.
- Parking is available on St George's Quay (pay and display) but can fill up during summer. Consider walking from the city centre or using the bus service.
- The museum has limited hours (afternoons only on some days) so check opening times on the website before visiting, especially outside summer season.
- St George's Quay was the centre of Lancaster's port activity in the 18th century - walk along the quay after your visit to see the warehouses and other port buildings that survive.
Highlights
The Custom House Building
The museum occupies one of Lancaster's finest Georgian buildings, the Custom House designed by Richard Gillow and completed in 1764.
This Grade I listed building was the administrative hub of Lancaster's busy port, where customs duties were assessed and collected on goods arriving from across the Atlantic. The elegant Palladian facade faces the River Lune, and the interior retains original architectural features including the Long Room where merchants conducted business.
The building itself tells the story of Lancaster's maritime prosperity, its classical proportions reflecting the wealth and confidence of a city at the height of its trading power.
Richard Gillow, who designed it, was the son of Robert Gillow, founder of the famous furniture firm.
Lancaster and the Slave Trade
A powerful and honest examination of Lancaster's significant involvement in the transatlantic slave trade during the 18th century. Lancaster was England's fourth largest slave trading port, and local merchants financed numerous voyages that transported enslaved Africans to Caribbean plantations. The displays use documentary evidence, trade records, and personal accounts to explore how slavery shaped Lancaster's economy, built its grand Georgian townhouses, and funded its cultural institutions.
The gallery does not shy away from the human cost, presenting the experiences of enslaved people alongside the profits that enriched Lancaster's merchant class.
This important exhibition contributes to the national conversation about Britain's slave trading past and its lasting legacy.
Port of Lancaster Exhibition
Comprehensive displays charting Lancaster's development as a major trading port from medieval times through its 18th-century heyday to its decline in the 19th century. Ship models, navigational instruments, cargo manifests, and trade goods illustrate the scale and variety of Lancaster's maritime commerce.
The gallery explains how Lancaster's position at the head of the Lune estuary made it a natural harbour, and how the construction of St George's Quay in the 1750s transformed the city's trading capacity.
As ships grew larger, Lancaster's shallow river became a disadvantage, and trade gradually shifted to nearby Glasson Dock and eventually to Liverpool and other deep-water ports. The exhibition captures both the ambition and the limitations of Lancaster as a port city.
Morecambe Bay Gallery
Exploration of the natural history and human relationship with Morecambe Bay, one of Britain's largest and most ecologically important estuaries. The gallery covers the bay's unique landscape of vast sandflats, salt marshes, and treacherous quicksands, as well as the rich birdlife and marine species that depend on this habitat.
Displays examine traditional bay industries including shrimping, cockle gathering, and the ancient practice of cross-bay walks guided by the Queen's Guide to the Sands.
The gallery also addresses the dangers of the bay, where fast-incoming tides have claimed many lives over the centuries.
The connection between Morecambe Bay's natural resources and the communities who have lived along its shores provides a compelling narrative of human adaptation to a dynamic coastal environment.
Collections
Lancaster Maritime Museum holds important collections relating to the maritime, canal, and fishing heritage of Lancaster and the surrounding area. Ship models, navigational instruments, and trade goods document Lancaster's history as a major 18th-century port. Significant collections of documents and artifacts relate to the transatlantic slave trade and the West Indies trade that enriched the city.
The fishing heritage collections include boats, equipment, and oral histories from the Morecambe Bay fishing communities. Canal-related material covers the Lancaster Canal from its construction to the present day. Natural history collections focus on the ecology of Morecambe Bay.
The Custom House building itself, with its original architectural features, forms an integral part of the collection. Archival material includes trade records, port records, merchant correspondence, and photographic collections documenting Lancaster's maritime past.
Port of Lancaster
The story of Lancaster as a major 18th-century trading port, covering trade routes, merchant life, and the rise and decline of the port on the River Lune.
📍 Ground Floor
Lancaster and the Slave Trade
An honest examination of Lancaster's role as England's fourth largest slave trading port and the lasting impact of the transatlantic trade on the city.
📍 First Floor
Morecambe Bay: Life on the Edge
The natural history and human heritage of Morecambe Bay, including fishing traditions, wildlife, and the unique coastal landscape.
📍 Ground Floor
The Lancaster Canal
History of the Lancaster Canal from its 18th-century construction to its modern use as a leisure waterway, featuring engineering achievements and canal life.
📍 First Floor
Themes
Time Periods
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.