Ipswich Maritime Trust is working in partnership with Thames Sailing Barge Victor

During 2025, with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Ipswich Maritime Trust are working in partnership with Thames sailing barge Victor. Working with local schools we are aiming to strengthen young people’s connection to maritime heritage, and build pride in place. We have already engaged with over 1000 young people who have been learning about the maritime heritage of Ipswich via school assemblies, classroom visits, primary school visits to the wet dock and to Victor, and some sailing trips aboard Victor in the River Orwell. Our education project has been very well received and we have a busy autumn term planned, with many more schools signing up to take part. Our thanks go to ABP for their continued support with the education project in enabling us to use the Old Customs House when schools are visiting the dock.

As a legacy to this project we are working with Dale Banham, a local education consultant, to create a lasting resource for local schools to enhance the national curriculum, that is aligned with Ofsted’s guidance for high-quality history teaching. This will help teachers explore curriculum-based themes through the lens of Ipswich’s maritime heritage and the development of its historic docks.

That’s not all! During the summer holidays we have been running a series of children’s creative workshops aboard Victor – called ‘Barge at Large’. Working in collaboration with local organisations and artists we have a weekly programme of nautical heritage themed activities ranging from nautical storytelling and chart-art and collage, to Victorian cyanotype photography on a Victorian sailing barge. Young families also have the chance to explore the Victor and learn about her working life collecting and delivering linseed under sail around the East Anglian coastline.

Some testimonials from the project so far:

‘Something special happened on Victor. I have never seen so many pupils inspired so passionately about what they had experienced’ – Teacher.

‘The boys went to the cyanotype workshop onboard the Sailing Barge Victor on Ipswich Waterfront this afternoon…they had the best time, and to quote the biggest of the three “it wasn’t boring at all!” This workshop was free thanks to Ipswich Maritime Trust Limited, having a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant. Funds like this are instrumental in helping people understand and learn about their local heritage through experiences such as this on the Victor’ – Parent.

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