Our area of interest extends to the present municipal boundary of Southampton and approximately from the 18th century to the present day. Because of the way our collections have grown and the expertise of our staff, we do not collect material to do with the geology, or flora or fauna of the area.
We are interested in the people, places and events that have formed Southampton.
We are interested in how people lived, how they worked and how they entertained themselves, as well as how they got about.
One of the main strengths of the collections is costume, which includes accessories such as bags, fans, parasols and shoes, etc. Since Southampton is a major port, this extends to occupational costume, i.e. uniform, as well. In fact most areas of the collections could be thought of as having some relationship with ships and the sea.
Our photographs, paintings, drawings and prints cover the shipping and dock scene as well as containing topographical views and portraits of famous Sotonians. We administer the Associated British Ports photographic collection.
Engineering Drawings, Posters and Plans are almost exclusively related to shipping. The Engineering drawings cover mainly the products of the British Power Boat Company and to a lesser extent, Thornycroft.
There are also a few hundred ship models in the collections that illustrate the types of craft that have been associated with Southampton and trace developments in naval architecture.
Southampton City Council
