The East Coast war channels were a system of defended shipping routes established in the early months of the First World War and maintained throughout the conflict. Hugging the coast between the Thames and the Forth, the Channels were a target for U-boat attacks: more than a thousand vessels were sunk.
In this lecture, Antony Firth discusses investigations (supported by Historic England) of the largely forgotten history of the war channels and their archaeological remains, both on the seabed and along England’s east coast.
Entry is free and no ticket is needed. Places are on a first-come, first-served basis, so latecomers may not be admitted when the lecture room is full.
Venue Details
BLAYDES HOUSE,
Maritime Studies Centre,
6 High Street,
Hull,
HU1 1HA
Blaydes House was built around 1740 as the home and business premises of the Blaydes family. The family included shipbuilders, shipowners, merchants and local political figures who played a leading part in the commercial and civic life of eighteenth-century Hull. The house, with its elegant panelled rooms and sweeping carved staircase, demonstrates the prosperity and self-confidence of the town’s mercantile elite. It is a typical Georgian merchant’s house, among the most impressive of several such buildings that have survived on the High Street. The house has been sympathetically restored, with period colour schemes. Since 2001 Blaydes House has been the home of the University of Hull’s Maritime Historical Studies Centre.
