This book discusses memorials - stained glass windows, church, cemetery
and public monuments - commemorating British seafarers, shipbuilders and
victims of shipwreck from the sixteenth century to the present. Examples
have been chosen mainly from Great Britain and Ireland with a few from
wider afield. They include important works by major British artists as
well as more modest productions by anonymous carvers. The book retells
the dramatic stories behind them, illustrating significant social and
cultural changes in Britain's relationship to the sea. Memorials vividly
illustrate the hazards of seagoing life and the impact these had both
upon the family of the deceased and the general public. The book has a
cultural historical focus. Each chapter includes case studies of both
high status and popular memorials, showing how iconography such as the
depiction of the wrecked ship was widely transmitted. The book covers
both naval and commercial aspects of seafaring and includes memorials to
naval officers, merchants, explorers, fishermen, leisure sailors,
victims of shipwrecks and lifesavers, with around 100 illustrations of
memorials. Barbara Tomlinson was Curator of Antiquities at Royal Museums
Greenwich (part of which is the National Maritime Museum) for over
thirty-five years and is Hon. Secretary of the Church Monuments Society.
Published in association with the National Maritime Museum, part of
Royal Museums Greenwich.
