Historic frigate shipshape again

The HMS Trincomalee is a boost to Hartlepool's tourism

More than a decade of painstaking work by North East craftsmen has seen the complete restoration of the UK's oldest surviving warship.

Work to restore HMS Trincomalee, a Nelson-era frigate, to its 19th century splendour has been underway for the past 11 years at Hartlepool, Teesside.

On Monday a trust charity, which raised £10.5m for the work, announced that the 1817 ship is back to its best.

Now the World Ship Trust is to give the Hartlepool project its International Maritime Heritage Award in recognition of its efforts.

'Maritime attraction'

Captain David Smith, Royal Navy, the trust's president, will also receive an award for his role in the venture.

The presentations will be made in November at Buckingham Palace by the Duke of Edinburgh.

HMS Trincomalee was built in 1817 in Bombay to Admiralty design.

It is now the sole floating survivor of more than 300 such Royal Navy sailing frigates.

Trust general manager Bryn Hughes said: "We have taken what was virtually a hulk and turned her into a major maritime heritage attraction.

The ship was built in India from teak

"Already the project has boosted regeneration and tourism in Hartlepool and has made a significant impact in placing the town firmly on the map for all the right reasons."

HMS Trincomalee was one of 47 Leda class frigates built for the British Navy between 1800 and 1830, at the time of the Napoleonic wars with France.

She was built in the yards of the East India Company in Bombay.

With supplies of readily-available teak, work commenced in 1816 under the direction of the company's master shipbuilder, Jamsetjee Bomanjee Wadia.

HMS Trincomalee was launched on 12 October the following year, and eventually arrived in Portsmouth on 30 April 1819.

Training ship

By this time the Napoleonic war with France was over, and she was immediately surplus to normal peacetime requirements.

As customary in these circumstances, HMS Trincomalee was placed 'in ordinary' (in reserve), her armament, masts, yards and rigging removed, and her decks carefully roofed over.

The ship was saved from being broken up in 1897 and purchased privately for training.

During World War II she was mobilised for training ratings, but deteriorated after the conflict.

The ship was brought to Hartlepool by the HMS Trincomalee Trust and restoration work began in 1990