Maryport Maritime Museum will close the doors for the final time on its home after almost 50 years later this month.
The museum is set to reopen in its new Christ Church location in 2024 and it is hoped a temporary venue will be found on Senhouse Street in the meantime.
The museum is set to close at 3pm on Wednesday August 31.
It opened in its current building, on the junction of Well Lane and Senhouse Street, in 1975. It was formerly the Queen’s Head pub.
The authority bought the town’s iconic Christ Church – known as the fisherman’s church – in 2020 with the intention of restoring the Grade II listed building and bringing it back into public use.
Christ Church is a prominent landmark on Maryport’s harbourside and has connections to artist LS Lowry who featured it in his paintings during visits to West Cumbria, as well as in the work of Aspatria’s Sheila Fell, his protégé.
While the museum remains open, it has on display its latest artwork added to its collection.
It has bought Old Maryport in the Year 1834 Looking Over The Graving Bank To The Drawbridge Moat Hill, an historically important harbour scene by Victorian artist William Mitchell (1823-1900).
It was auctioned at Mitchells in Cockermouth in June.
Signed and dated 1887, the artist lists the well known characters featured in the painting by name, including Mick Hutchinson, wooden leg, Crazy Barney, Johnnie Heroe and Young Benson.
The painting is on display at the museum until closure and will continue to be on display in its temporary home until it finds its final place in the new Maritime Museum in Christ Church.
A museum spokesman said: “We would like to express our thanks to Maryport Town Council for a contribution towards the purchase of this unique painting.”
