The history of the museum

Welcome to the Isle of Wight's most extensive collection of Maritime Heritage

The Shipwreck Centre & Maritime Museum was founded in 1978 and had been an ambition of the owner, Martin Woodward, since he first started diving on shipwrecks off the Isle of Wight in the 1960s.

Martin, a professional diver by trade who is very passionate about shipwrecks and maritime history, has amassed a huge collection of shipwreck artefacts over the years, but retained it all to put on display to the public.

Martin's collection has been on display to the public since his museum first opened in 1978 in Bembridge, however in 2006 the museum expanded and moved to Arreton Barns where it has been thriving.

In 2017 the Maritime Archaeology Trust, a charity with over 25 years experience in research, investigations and pioneering techniques for the study of marine cultural heritage took over the management of the museum.