Children from a Maryport school have been researching and reimagining the town’s maritime history in a project that took them on a class trip to the Lake District Coast Aquarium followed by an exclusive visit to see a dramatic mural by a local artist.
The children, from Year 2 at Netherton Infants School, walked with their teacher Leah Dixon and the project leader, award-winning artist Celia Burbush, from their school to Maryport Harbour to explore aspects of the town’s close links to the sea.
They passed The Wave, located on the site at Irish Street where ships used to be built and were launched broadside into the River Ellen, which flows into the sea at Maryport. They then arrived for their tour of the aquarium, finding out about the remarkable underwater life of the Solway Firth.
The children studied fish, including the recent arrivals in the aquarium’s new sealab, where thousands of sea creatures such as baby lobsters and jellyfish are hatched each year. The children created drawings of the fish and creatures, describing how they moved and their special markings and shapes.
They then visited a large mural by Maryport artist Alan Roper, a special artwork not normally visible to the public. The mural, depicting the launch of a ship into the River Ellen, is painted on a wall in the garden of a private resident, Dr Brian Money, who holds an interest in the history and culture of the town.
“The mural is a vibrant impression of what it must have been like over 100 years ago to stand among the crowds on Mote Hill overlooking the river, when great ships were launched broadside, casting spray onto the nearby onlookers,” said Celia Burbush. “The children were thrilled to see the painting, having learnt about this unique aspect to their town’s history.”
At school, the children will exhibit their own version of a Maryport merchant ship, a sculpture measuring 2.2 metres long by nearly 2 metres tall which they have been constructing with Ms Burbush’s help.
Ms Burbush said: “Each child has worked on a separate compartment of the ship along with stencil-printed sails, detailed portraits of the members of the ship’s crew, and a beautifully illustrated ship’s log containing a record of an imagined journey, signed in calligraphic style by the children.”
The ship will be displayed at a public exhibition to be held next year at Cockermouth’s Kirkgate Centre.
Emma Heys, general manager of Kirkgate Arts and Heritage, the Cockermouth charity that has been running the project, said: “The children from Netherton Infants School are one of several groups in Maryport and Cockermouth who have been taking part in our year-long community project.
“With Celia in the lead, we’ve used local heritage such as Maryport’s shipping history to ignite the imagination of participants, who have then explored further using their own creative arts skills.”
Funded by Arts Council England and Allerdale Borough Council, the project has involved all age groups and abilities, with workshops for families, schools and adults.
Ms Heys added: “We’ll be holding a celebration weekend next year to display all the artwork created as a result of the project.”
