The Hull History Centre, located in a quiet yet central neighbourhood not far from the Maritime Museum and the original site of the Hull Sailor’s Home, houses the extensive records of the Anglican Mission to Seafarers (U DMS). Founded in 1856, the Mission to Seafarers ministered to the spiritual and moral welfare needs of seamen. The records covered all aspects of their activities in Britain and abroad and included minutes, annual reports and accounts, port files, personnel files, committee files, publications, photographs, diaries and scrapbooks, and documents from local branches and amalgamated societies.
The Hull History Centre holds some of the most significant source materials for understanding the everyday life of British seamen. I had been in touch with the archivist Claire Weatherall, who kindly helped me to scope out the materials before my first visit. I went through the records of the Hull branch of the Mission to Seamen and the Port of Hull Society for the Religious Instruction of Sailors, which was established in 1821 to care for seamen and their families through various welfare initiatives. These records offered a very interesting history of the mission’s care for the families of sailors.
In particular, the records of the Seamen’s and General Orphanage (C DSHO) turned out to be a fantastic resource for understanding the Mariners’ Church Orphan Society’s operations since 1853. The society ran a boarding house and a school that provided food, clothing and education to orphaned young boys and girls whose fathers were victims of accidents at sea. It operated on a modest budget and saw some children return to their families to earn and take care of younger siblings. The number of children yet continued to increase, especially after a permanent care home was opened in Spring Bank in 1866.
The building, modelled after a barrack, was abandoned as the Port of Hull Society wanted to relocate the children out of the city into a cottage home. It found an ideal place in Hesslewood in 1921. The annual reports, minutes, and publications about the orphanage offer interesting insights into the Hull context of the projection of elitist civilisational sensibilities onto subaltern orphans in order to transform them into model citizens. The discussions on mundane decisions such as appropriate books and clothing for children of various ages shed light on a hidden chapter of child welfare that integrate religious, maritime, and family history of Victorian Britain.