Shipwrights leave secret message for the future, as HMS Victory: The Big Repair reaches conservation milestone

The team at the National Museum of the Royal Navy has hit a milestone whilst delivering £42m worth of structural repairs for HMS Victory, marking significant progress in protecting Britain’s most celebrated warship. 

To commemorate the 100th new futtock (the large curved timbers that form the ‘ribs’ of the ship) being installed as part of the ten-year project, the 16-strong team of shipwrights have left their legacy on the ship, engraving their names onto the timber before it was lowered on the starboard side of the hull.

The futtocks have been hand made by the expert team of shipwrights from laminated teak, which is robust enough to preserve the ship for at least another 50 years. 

Now, with only 50 more futtocks left to be installed to replace the decaying wood, the next major stage of work to follow will be re-planking the hull of the ship, scheduled to begin in November. 

Simon Williams, project manager for HMS Victory: The Big Repair, said: 

“Conserving a ship of this scale, age and importance is a unique challenge but thanks to the skills and expertise of our shipwrights, and the wider project team, we are making incredible progress with two-thirds of planned futtock repairs complete

During our work we have found items that tie us to shipwrights who have worked on the ship in the past such as a payslip, a ruler and various shipwright timber marks, and it is now the turn of our shipwrights to leave their mark. In doing this, we are demonstrating that Victory is so much more than the story of Nelson and Trafalgar, but about all the more people and events that have shaped her history and enabled her to survive.

We are about two-thirds of the way through the futtock repairs but we’re mindful this could change as we continue to review more of the ship’s timbers during the project, and learn more about Victory’s condition.

Historic timber marks can be seen in various sections of the ship as Rosemary Thornber, Principal Heritage Advisor at the National Museum of the Royal Navy, explains: 

"It is believed that these marks etched into the ship’s timbers, usually using a rase knife, were used as part of a wider identification system to track the construction process of HMS Victory. They’d normally indicate a date, the part of the ship the timber relates to, and the Admiralty Broad Arrow, along with the initials of the dockyard manager receiving the timber. Now these marks serve as a tangible connection between the generations of skilled craftsmen who worked on the ship previously, and today's ongoing conservation efforts.”

HMS Victory remains open to the public during The Big Repair, where visitors can continue to get on board the ship, as well as have unprecedented access to the three storeys of the scaffold, where they can watch the conservation project take place in real time. A visit to HMS Victory is included in an Ultimate Explorer ticket for Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

The project is expected to last ten years, with work commencing in 2022. 

To find out more about HMS Victory: The Big Repair, the public can visit the project’s dedicated information hub, where the expert team shares the latest project updates, milestones, and stories.