The Doughty Collection

The collection was amassed by one man: Wilfred Vere Doughty, a director of the Consolidated Steam Fishing and Ice Company, former Proprietor and Editor of the Grimsby Evening Telegraph, which was founded by his father, Sir George Doughty, MP for Great Grimsby.

The collection is of such value and importance that, when Doughty bequeathed it to Grimsby in 1942, it became the starting point for a museums service in North East Lincolnshire.

The collection of ship models includes the 12ft long Narkunda - a 16,000 tonne steamer built by Harland and Wolf, 'The Death of Nelson' - a diorama believed to date from 1805/6, showing the quarter deck of the HMS Victory at the point of Nelson being shot and the 'Amelia', a beautiful model dating from 1899, of the Royal Yacht of Don Carlos, King of Portugal.

Made primarily from wood, copper and steel, some of the models were commissioned and made by the shipbuilders, as part of the extensive process of designing a ship - these were usually given to the eventual owners of the vessel.  Others were made by Major Raban Williams, who also made many models for the National Maritime Museum and the Science Museum and some were made by sailors and amateur model-makers. William Vere Doughty built the collection on throughout his lifetime - buying most of the pieces at auctions and sales.

The Doughty Collection of model ships is currently in storage at the Fishing Heritage Centre.  The models have all recently been restored and conserved and are once again the pride of North East Lincolnshire Museums Service Collection.

There is now a programme of exhibiting some selected ships in the Centre's Cafe, to give the public a sneak peak at them, until a more permanant display solution is reached.  If you would like to view the collection as a whole, or find a specific model, then contact Mark T. Tindle, the Council's Collection s and Access Officer, on

01472 -323556 to make an appointment.