CUTTY SARK and MARY ROSE get lottery boost
A total of £31 million goes to two Britain's most historic ships...

Two of Britain's most historic vessels are to be given a lifeline from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The warship MARY ROSE is to get a £21 million grant whilst the CUTTY SARK has been awarded £10 million.

The Cutty Sark Trust said it was thrilled with the decision by Heritage Lottery Fund to increase their grant

Richard Hamilton, Chairman of the Cutty Sark Trust, said:

"The Heritage Lottery Fund has been an incredible partner of the Cutty Sark Trust and we are deeply grateful for this extra support. The support from the public and our other partners has also been enormously encouraging.

"The Trust has secured £30 million against the projected cost of £35 million to realise this exciting and innovative project at the heart of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site."

Visitors to the Trust’s web site, www.cuttysark.org.uk, can follow the project’s progress on the online diary.

The MARY ROSE is effectively the first true warship to be built for England and was famously raised from the Solent before a worldwide audience of some 60 million people in 1982.

The tea and wool clipper CUTTY SARK was built on the banks of the River Leven at Dumbarton in 1869 by Scott & Linton. So onerous were the demands of her owners, the builders went out of business and rivals Wm Denny completed the ship.

On 21st May 2007 a serious fire broke out on board causing considerable damage. Fortunately masts, rigging and decking had been removed and were not in place at the time of the fire.