The Drum Store

You may not believe it as you look around, but you are in one of the newest parts of the Shipwreck Museum. This addition to the site, known as the ‘Drum Store’, was built in 1895-96. A timber framed stable originally stood here but was demolished to make way for a storage facility for ‘case oil’. This was the name given to kerosene packed in square, four-gallon tins that were, in turn, packed in wooden cases. When inexpensive, mass-produced kerosene came onto the market it quickly replaced scarce and expensive whale oil for lighting. With kerosene being such a volatile liquid good ventilation was essential. If you look up at the pine planking of the ceiling you will notice some large, square shaped areas which are of a lighter shade from the rest. This is where the original vents for the store were fixed. The old vents were removed when the building was refurbished to become the Maritime Museum.   

In 1898 a new set of stables for the store was added to the end of this building. Everyone was catered for. If you walk down the lane between this building and the next, facing Cliff Street, you will notice the old stable door. If you have a look at the bottom of this door you will notice an arched outline on its bottom edge. This was the cat door, to allow the stable’s cat, and chief rat catcher, to come and go as she pleased.

This wooden case originally held two tin-plate drums of 'case oil' and used for the seabourne trade in refined petroleum products. 
Credit: TrimmerinWiki, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0