HMS Warrior, now looking every inch a proud battleship – and
living up to her stirring name - was once a very sad shell, living out the
remainder of her days as a floating jetty at Pembroke Dock, in the Milford
Haven Oil Terminal in South Wales. But
then the Ship's Preservation Trust brought her to Hartlepool Dock, where they
commissioned an initial Timber Survey in order to see whether she could be
brought back to life and restored, as Britain's first (and now last) Iron-clad
battleship.Jim Coulson – TFT's Director – was given the task of climbing into her belly and her bilges, and examining all of her timbers, to see whether she was worth salvaging: and indeed she was. He found that she had been built of Teak and that this very durable timber had survived almost perfectly since she was built in the days of the Victorian Navy, in 1860. Her timber deck had, however, suffered over the years; and this was eventually replaced with reclaimed timbers from an old warehouse. New masts and spars were also added as art of the complete restoration which brought this fine ship back to her former glory.
HMS Warrior can now be seen at Portsmouth, along with other famous historic ships, including Nelson's Victory and the Mary Rose.
Find out more about the HMS Warrior at http://www.hmswarrior.org/.
