TOO much of Southampton’s maritime past has been hidden away since the closure of its old maritime museum, a historian has warned.

Hampshire-based maritime historian Captain Steve New claims thousands of items are no longer on display since the closure of the 15th century Wool House, which housed the museum, in September 2011.

Similarly, the God’s House Tower also housed hundreds of artefacts, but was also closed by the cash-strapped council at the same time.

The whereabouts of some are unknown, the Daily Echo has discovered.

Hopes were raised that the £15m SeaCity Museum, at the Civic Centre, would bring much of that collection back into the public eye.

But experts now say that by focussing on Titanic, SeaCity has deprived thousands of visitors the chance to delve further into the city’s past.

Captain New described the new museum as “the emperor’s new clothes”.

He said: “The new museum’s display on the Titanic is very good. But that cannot hide the fact that it does not show much of Southampton’s maritime heritage.

“I am appalled at the disappearance of artefacts and the detailed information that had previously been on display.

“There are many items which were on display previously which now seem to have disappeared, and I have not been given satisfactory answers as to where they have gone.

“One member of the council’s heritage team told me: ‘I suspect that with the opening of the new museum, with its emphasis on the Titanic, any opportunity to develop an exhibition outlining a coherent history of the port has gone’.”

Among the major items which have not been seen since the closure of the Maritime Museum are an enormous scale model of Southampton’s docks in the 1930s, which was originally built for the 1939 New York World’s Fair, a Thornycroft inverted compound steam engine, a diving suit and a number of impressively-crafted models of liners and other ships.

The council is still not clear on exactly how many items are in its maritime history collection, but a spokesman said it contains “several thousand” items.

Authority staff are currently counting and categorising the items, which also include photographs, archive material and oral history clips.

But, similarly to the city art collection, while a few items are currently on display to the public, thousands more are currently sat out of sight.

The closure of the Maritime Museum and God’s House Tower was necessitated by financial pressures which the council is still feeling.

The authority’s leisure and culture department will feel cuts to the tune of £732,000, while five full-time staff positions will be lost.

Captain New continued: “I’ve put in a request to the Arts Council for them to review the city council’s situation with regard to their accreditation.

“The Arts Council does yearly checks as to whether artefacts are being looked after properly.”

His concerns have been echoed by fellow south coast historian Roger Hardingham.

“Southampton is a city known for its connection to the sea, but with regards to its maritime past there seems to be a complete cultural lethargy.

“Obviously those at the top of the council have a lot on their hands as obviously they’ve got a city to run.

“But it looks as though heritage is at the bottom of the pile.”

Responding to their concerns, a council spokesman said: “Like in all other museums, only a small proportion of our collection is on display at any one time.

“Southampton has many fascinating maritime stories to tell, and we utilise as many of our collection items as space will allow to engage with and inform residents and visitors to our leisure venues.

“For conservation reasons we would never be able to permanently display everything – some items are just too fragile to be on permanent display.

“However, we do make a particular effort to include items from across our collection in temporary exhibitions whenever possible, both at SeaCity, Tudor House and elsewhere such as the Civic Centre, libraries and other venues.”

The spokesman did add that two new exhibitions based on maritime heritage are planned.

From February to May next year, the Ship to Shore exhibition will show objects and memorabilia charting the history and future of communication at sea.

Then a Soldiers’ Journey exhibition, in partnership with Hampshire County Council and Winchester City Council, will mark the centenary of the First World War.

Southampton was the main port of embarkation for soldiers travelling to Europe to fight, with 8,149,685 troops departing from the city over the course of the conflict.