The stained glass window that commemorates the merchant seamen of Leith who died in World War I.

Trinity House Maritime Museum contains treasures and curiosities collected by sailors across the centuries. Among them is the narwhal tusk used as a walking cane by Mr John Wood, who owned a fleet of whalers. Narwhal live in the Arctic Ocean and their spiral tusks were often claimed to be unicorn horns. The tusk can be seen in the Henry Raeburn portrait of Mr Wood, which hangs in Trinity House. An important feature of the house is the stained glass window that commemorates the merchant seamen of Leith who died in World War I. This was gifted by Coleena Grant, the only woman to ever join the corporation; Mrs Grant became an honorary member in 1933.

There are an abundance of model ships, globes, medals and navigational instruments.

A small bottle of water collected from the Sargasso Sea has also been preserved. The Sargasso was once a place of fear and mystery where many ships were lost in the seaweed-covered waters. It includes the area we now call the Bermuda Triangle.

There is also the triple-locking charter chest which held the corporation’s records at Stirling Castle from 1650 to 1654 after Cromwell’s army evicted it from its headquarters.

The corporation has been based at the same site since at least 1555 and the vaults beneath the Georgian Trinity House are medieval.

It is located at 99 Kirkgate, Leith. Tours are available daily but only by appointment and parties are limited to a maximum of 15. They can be arranged by calling 0131 554 3289.

View Trinity House opening times and admission prices.