When you arrive in Hartlepool, one of the first things that you notice is that unlike your typical English town of this size, the steeples of churches aren’t the only thing you see rising above the roofs of houses. Here in Hartlepool, the closest thing we have to a skyline are the masts of HMS Trincomalee. This retired Royal Navy ship currently floats in a Historic Quay museum and the silhouette of the ship is unmissable when you arrive in Hartlepool.
Earlier this week the National Museum of the Royal Navy, which is currently undergoing a complete rebranding, named HMS Trincomalee as the first official affiliate of the museum which is based in Portsmouth. Today HMS Trincomalee will be inducted into the National Museum of the Royal Navy, and in a special ceremony the flag of the NMRN will be hoisted up onboard HMS Trincomalee to mark the occasion. According to an official press release from Hartlepool Borough Council:
The affiliation aims to increase the understanding and importance of the Navy to Britain’s heritage and to display the relationship between HMS Victory in Portsmouth (a first-rate ship of the line) and HMS Trincomalee (a frigate of the same period), typical examples of the British Fleet in the 18th and 19th centuries.
HMS Trincomalee in Hartlepool is in the Core Collection of the National Register of Historic Vessels of the United Kingdom because of her importance to the maritime heritage of the UK and has the proud claim of being the oldest British warship still afloat. Built in Bombay, India in 1817, the Trincomalee was brought to Hartlepool in 1987, where it took over 10 years to restore the ship to her former glory. She is now the premier attraction at the Hartlepool’s Maritime Experience, attracting more than 54,000 visitors a year.
I’ve visited Hartlepool’s Maritime Experience once with my family, and the opportunity to board HMS Trincomalee is really an experience unlike any other. You truly get to experience the conditions sailors of this time worked in with very low ceilings and sloping floors. It was a wonderful day out and an attraction that was enjoyable for all ages. It’s an amazing experience and I definitely think HMS Trincomalee deserves pride of place as an affiliate of the National Museum of the Royal Navy.
The restoration of HMS Trincomalee was overseen by the Duke of Edinburgh himself and as the patron of the vessel he visited Hartlepool last spring to inspect the restoration work that had been done on the ship. Prince Philip flew in by helicopter for a few short hours and after having a good poke around he praised the work done to restore HMS Trincomalee.
As part of the new affiliation, the NMRN has loaned out some important diaries to the HMS Trincomalee Trust which were actually written onboard the ship but have been stored in the NMRN’s archives for over a century. To read more about this special exhibition, here is a report from BBC Tees about the journals and today’s special ceremony.
Crew diaries reunited with HMS Trincomalee on Teesside
After the Tall Ships Races earlier this summer which drew hundreds of thousands of visitors, Hartlepool Borough Council is hoping this new affiliation will be another boost to the area’s tourism, attracting vistors to this very unique piece of history we have floating in our Historic Quay.