by Ray Duffill
Hedon Museum has launched its 2026 exhibition season with a display celebrating the work of the SKEALS group (Spurn, Kilnsea and Easington Area Local Studies).
The exhibition also marks the group’s 20th anniversary, having been formed in the summer of 2006. The displays highlight two decades of research and work gathering and curating the history of Spurn, Kilnsea, Easington and the surrounding area.
A number of artefacts are on show, including a section of whalebone originally washed up in 1925 and a figure of a smoking man carved into a coconut husk.
To mark the anniversary, SKEALS has also published a new book, The Gas Man Cometh, which explores the role and impact of the gas terminal at Easington on the local area over the decades. The book is available to buy at the exhibition for £10.
Hedon’s 678th mayor, councillor Phil Hinch, officially opened the exhibition and, as a keen metal detectorist, was particularly interested in old coins discovered in Easington that are documented in the displays.
Welcoming the group to the museum, the mayor also outlined plans for the rest of the exhibition programme.
“It’s a real honour to open the museum’s new season,” he said. “I do hope that residents and visitors will come and visit the four exhibitions. Each exhibition adds to a variety of history-related events on our town calendar, including the popular Heritage Open Days in the autumn. Hedon is also preparing to host Yorkshire Day next year, and we are very excited about that.”
The programme is:
- SKEALS – looking back from Roman times to the present day, until Saturday, April 25.
- Let’s Go to the Theatre, reviewing the heydays of Hull’s theatres, until Saturday, June 20.
- Images of Hedon – Past and Present, until Saturday, August 15.
- Roads and Railways – your Journey to Hedon, until Friday, November 27.
Each exhibition is open every Saturday and Wednesday from 10am to 4pm. Entry is free, refreshments are available, and souvenirs can be purchased.
When visiting Hedon Museum, look out for the noticeboards at Watmough’s Arcade in the town centre directing visitors to the entrance.