Portsmouth Archives - Mechtraveller

Coins Discovered Under HMS Victory‘s Foremast

Alastair — Thu, 21 May 2026 14:28:41 +0000

When HMS Victory‘s masts were removed at the end of April*, six 19th century coins and tokens were discovered under the foremast. Placing coins on the mast step before the mast is lowered, was a long-time maritime tradition intended to bring good fortune**. So it might have been expected that there would be a coin […]

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HMS Victory’s remaining masts are coming down

Alastair — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 14:38:43 +0000

HMS Victory’s team of conservators, shipwrights and riggers have started taking down her remaining masts as part of The Big Repair – the ten-year, £42m project to conserve Nelson’s flagship for future generations. As Stuart Sheldon, Lead Rigger at the National Museum of the Royal Navy, puts it: “HMS Victory matters to people in a […]

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What’s the significance of Brittany Ferries’ New-Generation Cross-Channel Ferries?

Alastair — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 10:10:37 +0000

Almost one year ago, Brittany Ferries introduced their new flagship ‘Guillaume de Normandie‘, intended to replace the old ‘Normandie‘ on their Portsmouth – Caen/Ouistreham* route. Like her sister ship, Saint-Malo (SM), which began operating Portsmouth – St Malo two months earlier, the Guillaume de Normandie (GdN) is not a simple replacement, she’s a Chinese-built new-generation […]

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New ‘Jolly Roger’ display at the Submarine Museum, Gosport

Alastair — Wed, 27 Mar 2024 14:27:25 +0000

A new display of ‘Jolly Roger’ flags flown by Royal Navy submarines is launched today (27/03/2024) at The Royal Navy Submarine Museum, Gosport. It will expand the museum’s previous collection of Jolly Rogers by including the earliest known surviving example and the museum’s newest acquisition, a Jolly Roger from HMS Thorough. The Jolly Roger is […]

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Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson’s intimate letters on display for first time

Alastair — Thu, 20 Oct 2022 11:01:03 +0000

It’s Trafalgar Day tomorrow (21 Oct) and the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) is revealing some of Lord Nelson’s letters in a temporary exhibition that will run till 16 April 2023. ‘Nelson In His Own Words: Treasures from the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation’ features rare & intimate letters and documents penned by Vice-Admiral Lord […]

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The historic Tank Landing Craft LCT 7074 has arrived at her new home

Alastair — Mon, 24 Aug 2020 16:50:00 +0000

The WWII Tank Landing Craft, LCT 7074, a veteran of D-day, has finally made the journey from Portsmouth Naval Base to her new home on Southsea where she will be the newest addition to the D-Day Story museum. The newly renovated 59-metre long, 300-ton ship was moved around from Portsmouth Naval Base to Southsea Beach […]

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HMS Victory is “afloat” on her smart props

Alastair — Fri, 14 Aug 2020 09:55:44 +0000

The HMS Victory conservation project has reached a major milestone with the completion of her new support system. As I wrote 18 months ago (Review: HMS Victory. Take a look, there’s a good explanatory video), the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) and BAE Systems have been working on a revolutionary new support structure […]

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A new harmony in Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard

Alastair — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 17:53:05 +0000

Long overdue, the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) and Mary Rose are collaborating on ticketing. It was always ludicrous that a visit to the Historic Dockyard in Portsmouth meant dealing with two separate ticketing systems. Ludicrous but understandable. The two organisations that share the Historic Dockyard – Mary Rose Trust and the National […]

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Review: Explosion! Museum of Naval Firepower, Gosport

Alastair — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 20:07:16 +0000

I’ve saved the best for last, in the Portsmouth/Gosport museum reviews. The Explosion! Museum of Naval Firepower may be the least well-known of the National Museum of the Royal Navy sites, but I think it’s the most interesting. Or, put another way, it’s the one I would return to first. I may be a little […]

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Review: Royal Navy Submarine Museum, Gosport

Alastair — Thu, 09 May 2019 10:53:59 +0000

The Royal Navy Submarine Museum is one of the two satellite sites of the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) on the other side of Portsmouth harbour. For that reason, it maybe doesn’t get as much attention as the ships and other museum attractions in the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, but it totally should because […]

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