HMS Trincomalee is now part of the National Museum of the Royal Navy family, joining the prestigious heritage fleet of that organisation alongside HMS Victory, HMS Alliance and HMS Caroline.

The Appeal, aims to raise money to preserve the oldest warship still afloat at Jacksons Dock, within the National Museum of the Royal Navy Hartlepool.

The fundraising efforts will go towards large, essential maintenance works of the ship that will allow it to remain an integral part of Hartlepool's leisure and tourism economy for future generations.

Current projects include conserving the Figurehead which will be professionally conserved in order to halt further deterioration by rot (it would appear that the rot was never treated) and prevent any serious breakage, especially in the neck area where loss of timber from rot has left it in a seriously weakened state. Conservation will also reveal the original paint colours and bring the figurehead to a standard suitable for display enabling the public to see it for the first time. 

Outcomes:

• People will have learnt about heritage through witnessing the conservation of the
  figurehead and hearing about it from the conservator and trained volunteers;seeing and reading about the figurehead once permanently on display in the museum; reading about the project online; hearing about the project through attending talks and presentations
• People will have had an enjoyable experience in seeing
  the conservation work taking place at the museum, and afterwards in seeing the figurehead on display
• People will have volunteered time. Volunteers will be recruited and trained to steward whilst the conservation work takes place on site and to tell visitors about it. Hopefully this may lead to them contributing more time helping on thesite and encouraging others to do the same.
• Heritage will be in better condition through the figurehead being professionally conserved and presented
• Heritage will be better interpreted and explained through a
  new offer for schools which will explore a different side of HMS Trincomalee; through a new display explaining the significance of ships’ figureheads, the design and crafting of them and the work involved in conserving HMS Trincomalee.