UK - Southwold - Sailor's Reading Room sign

A detail of the ornate sign hanging outside the Sailor's Reading Room on East Cliff, Southwold, Suffolk. Topless mermaids and a shell form part of the sign on a red brick wall of this Grade II listed Sailors' Reading Room, which still provides daily papers and a place to read them. Built in 1864 in memory of Captain Charles Rayley RN, a naval officer at the time of Trafalgar, the Reading Room was a refuge for fishermen and sailors. It provided a place to meet and receive religious instruction, away from the pubs, and somewhere to read things that were good for the soul. Displays of a seafaring nature line the walls and fill glass cabinets. Pictures and portraits of local fishermen and seascapes, model ships and maritime paraphernalia offer a fascinating history of Southwold's connections with the sea.

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Filename: southwold_emblem-12-06-1992.jpg
Copyright: Richard Baker
Image Size: 5095x3431 / 4.7MB; british britain uk english england suffolk southwold sailors' reading room mermaids maritime resort coastal coast museum listed victorian seafront seaside heritage vintage past bygone era centuries preservation conservation & an a at of for with and in or
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A detail of the ornate sign hanging outside the Sailor's Reading Room on East Cliff, Southwold, Suffolk. Topless mermaids and a shell form part of the sign on a red brick wall of this Grade II listed Sailors' Reading Room, which still provides daily papers and a place to read them. Built in 1864 in memory of Captain Charles Rayley RN, a naval officer at the time of Trafalgar, the Reading Room was a refuge for fishermen and sailors. It provided a place to meet and receive religious instruction, away from the pubs, and somewhere to read things that were good for the soul. Displays of a seafaring nature line the walls and fill glass cabinets. Pictures and portraits of local fishermen and seascapes, model ships and maritime paraphernalia offer a fascinating history of Southwold's connections with the sea.