Scotland’s oldest ship, HMS Unicorn, has received more than £1million in funding towards its ongoing restoration.
The donation comes from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) and will go towards preservation work to strengthen the ship’s hull to improve resilience ahead of a move to a nearby dry dock.
The ship, which was moved to Dundee in 1873, will be the centrepiece of a new maritime heritage centre.
The work will improve key parts of the structure and replace rotten modern timbers in the hull of the ship.
As the most original old ship in the world, the focus is to retain as much of the 1824 fabric as possible.
The work, which is expected to take 18 months, follows recently-completed £100,000 repairs to the ship’s original roof to help prevent rainwater causing further internal damage.
HMS Unicorn is the third-oldest ship in the world and has been under the care of the Unicorn Preservation Society since 1968.
‘HMS Unicorn is a spectacular surviving relic of our maritime heritage,’ said Ray Macfarlane, deputy chair of the National Heritage Memorial Fund.
‘Holding nearly 200 years of history within its hull, it is not only the oldest ship in Scotland but one of the oldest in the world, and incredibly one of the last remaining warships from the age of sail, still afloat.
‘The National Heritage Memorial Fund is proud to support the Unicorn Preservation Trust with a grant of over £1 million to sustain this great ship for public display.’
A £20,000 donation by American entrepreneur and self-made billionaire, John Paul DeJoria, in November 2022 and a £100,000 grant received from The Headley Trust in February provides the remaining funds required to carry out the immediate conversation work.
HMS Unicorn will remain open to the public during this time, with minimal impact expected on visitor experience.
The work will be completed in advance of the ship being moved to dry dock at East Graving Dock in Dundee for further major conservation works, as part of Project Safe Haven.
Museum director, Matthew Bellhouse Moran, said: ‘This is an absolute game changer for us as a charity as it allows us to press on with the critical preservation work which desperately needs to take place and is long overdue.
‘This work is essential to preserve the historic fabric of this much-loved ship, replacing rotten and missing timbers which is causing rapidly accelerating structural damage and strain on the ship.
‘We have employed leading experts in their field who have worked on some of the UK’s most historic ships to ensure the ship remains safe and floating for the immediate future.
‘We are delighted to be able to draw on their unrivalled experience in this sort of project, which will be carried out to the highest conservation principles of compatibility, sensitivity, reversibility, and legibility, all underpinned by a detailed understanding of the existing fabric.’
Read more on Scottish Field’s News pages.
Plus, don’t miss the July issue of Scottish Field magazine.
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