Open from 10am - 5pm Monday to Sunday. You can pay for admission on arrival at the museum.
SeaCity Museum offers colleges and universities a wide variety of ways to learn and engage with our collections and from our expertise in local and maritime history. Discover our talks and tours below. If you would like to make a group booking, or to discuss visiting us please contact our Learning Team on 023 8083 2810 or email museums.education@southampton.gov.uk.
We offer a reduced admission price to the museum for groups of 10 or more. In order to be eligible for a discount it is necessary to pre-book with us. Please ring 023 8083 2810 for more information.
Our college and university group tours are led by a specialist with a background in history or archaeology and last one hour. If you would like a more hands-on experience why not consider an artefact-based session on the subject of your choice. We also offer a wide range of illustrated talks about the remarkable history of Southampton.
Prices start from:
Monday – Friday during opening hours – £65
Weekends and after-hours – £95
SeaCity offers a range of illustrated talks on many fascinating historical subjects. These are available at the museum or can be booked as an outreach talk or online via platforms such as Zoom.
Price:
Museum talks – £65
Online talks- £95
Outreach talks – £75 plus travel costs.
The following talks are subject to availability:
Museums as Enterprise – Ideal for leisure and tourism course, this workshop goes behind the scenes of SeaCity. This session explores the context of museums in the UK today and focuses specifically on SeaCity Museum.
1338 And All That – Southampton suffered a catastrophic raid at the hands of French pirates at the beginning of the Hundred Years War. This talk unpicks the story and delves into Southampton’s medieval past.
Georgian Southampton: The Age of Spas, Stagecoaches and Highwaymen – During the 18th century Southampton grew into a prosperous spa resort. Discover its story in this talk based on the town in the Georgian era.
A History of Tudor House – Discover the story of Southampton’s most important historic building, from its Norman roots through the dark days of the Southampton Blitz, and everything in between.
A History of Southampton in Buildings – Explore the history of the town by finding out about a number of important buildings in the town today and what they tell us about Southampton’s past.
Anglo-Saxon Southampton – During the Dark Ages Southampton became one of the most important Anglo-Saxon towns in England. Unpick its story by exploring the archaeological evidence they left behind.
Southampton’s Missing Vikings – Historical sources tell us that marauding Vikings could be found in Southampton, but the archaeology has remained silent. This talk explores what was happening in Southampton during the age of King Alfred and the Golden Age of the Norsemen.
If Walls Had Ears – Southampton’s Medieval Defences This talk explores the story of Southampton through its defensive walls and touches on some of their pivotal moments including the devastating French raid that was the impetus for their creation, how it defended a major medieval and Tudor trading port, and its later roles as a space for entrepreneurial inventors and those seeking shelter from German bombers…
The Ghosts of Tudor House – Southampton’s Most Haunted Building? Go ghost-hunting in this fun talk looking at things that go bump in the night and find out about the reports of ghosts at Tudor House through the centuries.
The Life and Times of Ellen Wren: A Story of Victorian Southampton – The story of Ellen Wren is fairly well-known: she was a woman who stole and drank her way to an early grave and whose death in squalid conditions led to enormous changes in housing in Southampton. This talk charts her life from cradle, to grave, and beyond.
The Mysterious Death of William Rufus – This talk explores a nearly-thousand-years-old mystery- the death of King William II, a stone’s throw from Southampton, in August 1100.
O God, Our Help In Ages Past – The Story of Southampton’s Hymn This talk explores the Southampton of Isaac Watts’ time and the remarkable story of the hymn’s Southampton links throughout the last 300 years.
POSH – A History of Southampton Docks Discover the remarkable story of Southampton’s docks and the ocean liners that called the town home.
The Birth of Southampton – Chart the first people who came to the area that is now Southampton from distant prehistory through to Roman settlement of Clausentum.
Tales of Tudor Southampton – 16th century Southampton was awash with privateers, Italian merchants and dodgy deals. Find out more about the town during the reigns of the famous Tudor monarchs.
The Southampton Blitz – Discover the story of wartime Southampton in this talk exploring the Second World War.
Southampton: Gateway to the World – Inspired by our ‘Southampton: Gateway to the World’ exhibition, this talk explores how and why the town has become such an important maritime centre for commerce and the movement of people.
The Story of St Mary’s Workhouse – Discover the story of the St Mary’s poorhouse and delve into what life was like to poor of the town during the Victorian period.
Stuart Southampton: Mayflower, Civil War and the Great Plague – This talk focuses on Southampton in the Stuart era by examining the sailing of the Mayflower, the impact of the Civil War and the catastrophe of the Great Plague.
A Titanic Conspiracy? – Was the sinking of Titanic an elaborate insurance scam, did poor-quality rivets sink her and was a raging fire responsible for her sinking? This talk looks at the conspiracy theories associated with Titanic.
Titanic: Heroes & Villains – This talk explores the famous stories of Titanic by looking at some of the heroes and villains associated with the sinking of the RMS Titanic.
Victorian Southampton in the Age of Steam, Ships & Slums – The 1800s brought new railways, docks and suburbs to Southampton which changed the town forever. This talk explores tales from Victorian Southampton.
Join an expert historian or archaeologist in a hands-on workshop exploring an aspect of history in detail. Each session puts our collection’s objects at the heart of the session and allows groups to learn in a fun and safe environment. Sessions may also include mini-tours of parts of the museum. Each session lasts an hour and is suitable for groups of up to 20.
Topics can include:
Price:
Workshops – £100
