Hull Maritime Museum: Cleaning away the grime and dirt of one of Hull's grandest buildings

The Court Room of the Dock Offices - now the city’s Maritime Museum - was where shipping companies came to pay their dues towards the end of the Victorian era. It was designed to impress.

So far they have revealed a dramatically lighter scheme of beige paintwork with details picked out in gold.

“The detailing is beautiful; you don’t notice it as much from the floor,” says conservator Amanda White, of Lincoln Conservation.

“The craftsmen put so much more attention (into it) than was warranted, given the distance it was going to be seen from the floor.”

Working off a scaffold is physically quite challenging: “When you are working on a ceiling you get a cricked neck, you are always in an awkward position trying to reach areas.

“Lots of conservators do yoga to really get a stretch after a day’s hard work.”

Built facing the docks from which the city derived its wealth, the grade two star listed building has been closed for more than three years now for a £12m upgrade, as part of a drive to bring more visitors to enjoy the port’s rich, maritime history.

Architect Christopher George Wray won the original competition to design a new office in an Italianate style in 1866 for Hull Dock Company which operated all the docks in Hull.

Opened in 1871, the building originally overlooked the Princes Dock and Queens Dock - now filled in and a city park.

At the time trade was booming with the Baltic, local shipowners having adopted steamships early, which were faster and safer than sailing ships.

The port was third only in the country to Liverpool and London in 1870.

Gaslights produced grime, as did pipes, and pollution from outside. This is now painstakingly removed by applying a “poultice” of cotton wool soaked in a mild cleaning agent, then the area is swabbed down using a sponge and water.

A number of missing or broken shells and starfish which appear as motifs on the ceiling have been replaced or repaired, the oak floor restained and new windows installed. A lift is being put in to improve access.

Councillor Rob Pritchard said: “The Court Room is a beautiful space, and we know how important this room is to the people and the city.

“The work being done will reawaken the magic of the building and ensure that one of the best rooms in Hull continues to be here for everyone.”

A new atrium has been created and the three domes of the building restored and the stonework cleaned.

When the Maritime Museum in Hull reopens in spring 2025, many more objects will be on display including old favourites, the 40ft Northern Atlantic right whale, remounted to look as if swimming, and Eric, the polar bear exhibit.