About Us

Cobwebs is situated in a mid-Victorian building in the old Northam area of Southampton. We have been serving our customers from across the United Kingdom and worldwide since 1975.

Situated on the south coast of England, Southampton is the premier port in the United Kingdom. The port’s history stretches back to Roman times, but Southampton is perhaps most famous as the home of the great liners. Mighty vessels such as Mauretania, Titanic, Olympic, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth and QE2 sailed from the port during the heydays of ocean liner travel. Today’s modern cruise ships continue this tradition.

Cobwebs, established since 1975, is situated in a mid-Victorian building in the old Northam area of Southampton. We have a wide customer base including shipping companies, museums, film and television companies, interior designers and individual collectors around the world.

We have provided our customers with gems from our maritime heritage dating from the 1830s to the present day. As well as Ocean Liner Memorabilia we also have a selection of Royal Navy and Royal Yacht items.

We have four thousand items on display, from Titanic and White Star Line, Cunard, P&O, Royal Mail, Orient, Union Castle and most other shipping companies

Peter Boyd-Smith was born and brought up in Southampton and has been associated with ships for most of his life. As a young child he was often onboard warships with his father, who was in the Royal Navy. As a young adult he worked in shipping offices and for other companies associated with ships.

In 1975 he opened Cobwebs as an antique and collectables shop. Now specialising in items from ocean liners he has become known throughout the world for his knowledge of ships and their artefacts. Peter was delighted when Cobwebs won the coveted title of Top Collectable Shop in Britain by the British Antiques and Collectables Awards.

Peter is happy to advise both individual collectors and organisations. Peter has worked with museums, shipping companies and film and television companies. He was an advisor to Cameron’s Titanic movie and ITV’s Titanic mini-series by Julian Fellowes. He was also a consultant to RMS Titanic Inc salvors of Titanic and to the Titanic Museum in Orlando, Florida. A contributor to television, radio programmes and magazines and journals. He has written several books on ocean liners and on the history of Southampton.

For twenty years Peter has enthralled audiences with his series of maritime lectures for world renowned cruise lines – Cunard, P&O, Princess, Celebrity, Saga and Fred Olsen cruises.

Peter has written a number of books: