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Cutty Sark back on track after fire
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| £10m of extra restoration work on the Cutty Sark has been necessary owing to the fire on this date last year |
It has been one year since a fire swept through the Cutty Sark in the early hours of the morning. MATTHEW JENKIN looks at the future of one of London's best-loved landmarks.
A FIRE almost destroyed historic tea clipper the Cutty Sark ship a year ago.
However, despite millions being added to the estimated cost of conservation work on the
19th-century ship, its restoration programme is back on track.
The blaze on May 21 last year ripped through the Greenwich-based ship's three decks, buckling the wrought iron frame and destroying all the tools on board at the time.
Before the blaze the ship was a quarter of the way through a £25m conservation project,
funded by charity the Cutty Sark Trust, which was set to be completed next year.
The fire damage added £10m to the total cost of restoring the ship - to £35m - despite half of it having been removed for conservation purposes.
An extra £10m grant was provided by the Heritage Lottery Fund in January to cover the
additional cost.
Donations are still needed in order to raise the original amount needed to complete the ship's restoration, but work is expected to be completed in 2010.
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| Fire ripped through the tea clipper on May 21 last year PICTURE BY JEROME PACCOU |
Trust chief executive Richard Doughty said: "Just one year on from the fire, we are back on track. The donations and grants we have received have saved our project and safeguarded our vision for the ship.
"If we had not received these funds, Cutty Sark's future would have been bleak. We still need to raise another £3.72m, but we are confident we will complete the project by Easter 2010."
The trust says work on the tea clipper is running smoothly.
A spokesman said: "Last month, a major step forward was when the counter, a large part of the stern, located at the back of the ship, was removed for electrolysis and repair."
When work is finished, the Cutty Sark will be relaunched as a tourist attraction.
It will be raised almost 3m above its current position and suspended in the air so visitors can walk underneath it and look at its hull.
The lower part of the ship will be covered by a glass canopy to give weather protection to the hull and improve security.
The police investigation is ongoing and the cause of the blaze is yet to be determined.
The Cutty Sark visitor centre, next to the ship, is now open on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays from 11.00am to 5.00pm.
For more information about the ship and how to make a donation, visit cuttysark.org.uk
THE LAST TEA CLIPPER
THE Cutty Sark was launched on November 22, 1869, from Scott and Linton's shipyard at Dumbarton in Scotland.
The ship was built at a cost of £16,150.
She weighs 963 tons, is 85.4m long and had a top speed of over 17 knots.
The ship was built for the China tea trade, but the opening of the Suez Canal and the introduction of steam ships meant she carried her last cargo in 1877.
She was brought to Greenwich by the Cutty Sark Preservation Society in December 1954. A dry dock was built to contain the ship, which was opened to the public in 1957.
8:04am Wednesday 21st May 2008
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CommentPosted by: richard young, leicestershire on 9:05am Sat 17 May 08
This is great news.I will look forward to a trip down to Greenwich in the next few weeks to support and see first hand how things are moving forward.This is one of man's most beautiful creations which must be saved.I have an old photograph of my fathers showing her laid up at anchor in Falmouth.I think just after the war.
This is great news.I will look forward to a trip down to Greenwich in the next few weeks to support and see first hand how things are moving forward.This is one of man's most beautiful creations which must be saved.I have an old photograph of my fathers showing her laid up at anchor in Falmouth.I think just after the war.
Posted by: Sunny, London on 10:26am Wed 21 May 08
Yer, great! History will look back on 2008 and just remember how many children have been killed!! History will never be the same.
Yer, great! History will look back on 2008 and just remember how many children have been killed!! History will never be the same.
Posted by: anita, dartford on 12:53pm Wed 21 May 08
To be honest I couldn't give a flying fig about the Cutty Sark nor anyone else who I asked the money would have been best spent getting crime off the streets and other worthwhile projects. It was only a Tea Clipper for gods sake!
To be honest I couldn't give a flying fig about the Cutty Sark nor anyone else who I asked the money would have been best spent getting crime off the streets and other worthwhile projects. It was only a Tea Clipper for gods sake!
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