Shipwreck Centre

The Shipwreck Centre & Maritime Museum, located at Arreton Barns Craft Village on the Isle of Wight, is a popular destination for those looking to kill a few hours with the family or learn more about the history of these fascinating vessels and their stories. Originally located in Bembridge since the late 1970’s the museum relocated to Arreton around 2006. The museum tells the story of a time of Pirates, shipwrecks and treasure, you can even view a ‘Merman’ exhibit. This isn’t a corporate, highly polished gallery of replicas; it is a raw, tactile warehouse of genuine salvage, born from one mans absolute obsession with the treacherous waters surrounding the Isle of Wight. The entire space is a monument to decades of commercial diving by the museums founder, Martin Woodward. Since the 1960’s, Woodward pulled thousands of tons of history directly from the seabed, turning a personal archive into a stunning catalog of human tragedy and survival.

Treasures from the Deep – Shipwreck Centre Isle of Wight Diving Finds

Whether young or old, everyone will find something interesting at the exhibition. Features include “Treasures from the Deep”, old treasures found under the sea, models of antique ships, antique diving equipment and many other intriguing items. Martin Woodward was the main driving force behind this exhibition, after he began his diving career during the 1960’s. After diving various shipwrecks in locations around the Isle of Wight, he opened the museum in 1978 to display all of the dived material he had amassed.Genuine While many maritime museums rely on models and text panels, the shelves here groan under the weight of authentic, salt-encrusted artifacts recovered from actual wrecks.

A Thousand Years of Junk and Jewels: From preserved Roman pottery to 19th century steamship dials, brass portholes, and personal sailors belongings, the collection spans a millennium of seafaring life.

Gold and Pieces of Eight: Get close to genuine Spanish gold and silver “Pieces of Eight” recovered from ancient galleons that misjudged the Isle of Wights jagged coastline.

The Tragedies of War: The museum handles delicate wartime history with incredible gravity. There are deeply moving displays featuring items recovered from the SS Mendi – a troopship that sank in 1917 with the loss of over 600 Southern African soldiers, as well as relics from the missing submarine HMS Swordfish, which Woodward himself discovered on the seabed in 1983.

IOW Shipwreck Museum Antique Diving Exhibits

The evolution of how we explore the underwater world is laid bare through a massive display of vintage commercial diving equipment.

• The “Heavy Metal” Suits: You can stand right next to original copper and brass Siebe Gorman “Standard Diving” helmets. These massive, claustrophobic suits required teams of men on the surface to manually pump air down to the diver below.
• The Mechanics of Salvage: The museum details the sheer grit required to operate massive underwater pumps, cutting equipment, and ropes in pitch black, freezing channel waters.

Maritime Museum Vintage Lifeboat Collection

Housed within the complex is a dedicated space tracking the heritage of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) on the island. The centerpiece is the Queen Victoria, a brilliantly restored historic lifeboat that was actively in service from 1887 to 1902. Seeing the comparatively fragile wood construction of the vessel makes you realize the sheer bravery of the Victorian crews who rowed out into midnight gales to save stranded sailors.

Learn Isle of Wight Maritime History

Apart from viewing old shipwrecks and diving equipment, you will also learn about the tragic tales of lives lost at sea. To relax, why not visit the cinema room and see the “Walk around Tour”, alongside videos of real life sea rescues.

When visiting Arreton Barns Craft Village, make your way to the Carp Pond, where you will find the museum. Make use of the free parking and excellent restaurant and pub facilities during your visit, and if you have young ones, you’ll find many activities, such as the Treasure Hunt or Pirate Trail to keep them busy.

Address for IOW Shipwreck Centre & Maritime Museum

The Isle of Wight Shipwreck & Maritime Museum can be visited at:

The Shipwreck Centre,
Arreton Barns Craft Village,
Main Road,
Arreton,
Isle of Wight,
PO30 3AA
United Kingdom