The National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) is a maritime exposition and visitor attraction at the west end of

Hartlepool Marina Hartlepool Marina is a basin used for mooring yachts in the former docks of Hartlepool in County Durham, England. History The site was formerly known as the Hartlepool South Docks: the last company to operate there was William Gray & Company, ...

Hartlepool Hartlepool ( ) is a seaside resort, seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough Borough of Hartlepool, named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area with an estimat ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

Northern England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the Historic counties of England, historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, County Durham, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmo ...

. The concept of the attraction is the thematic re-creation of an 18th-century seaport, in the time of

Lord Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

and the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...

. , a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

and Britain's oldest warship afloat is at the centre of the quay. She was built in Bombay, India in 1817. The 190th anniversary of the ship's official launch was on Friday 12 October 2007. The attraction consists of gift shop and reception, Marine Barracks and Guard Room, a number of period shops and houses, Fighting Ships, Pressganged, Sir William Gray Suite and Baltic Rooms, Skittle Square and children's playship, Bistro and Quayside Coffee Shop, Children's Maritime Adventure Centre, HMS ''Trincomalee'', and the Museum of Hartlepool.

History

It opened to the public in July 1994. Before April 2005 it was known as Hartlepool Historic Quay. The museum was built by

Teesside Development Corporation The Teesside Development Corporation was a government-backed development corporation that was established in 1987 to fund and manage regeneration projects in the former county of Cleveland in North East England. History The corporation was est ...

as part of the economic regeneration of old industrial sites of

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, on the derelict docks that were formerly used for industries such as shipbuilding and as timber yards etc. Between 2005 and 2016 it was known as Hartlepool's Maritime Experience. In June 2016 operation of the site was taken over from the local council by the

National Museum of the Royal Navy The National Museum of the Royal Navy was created in early 2009 to act as a single non-departmental public body for the museums of the Royal Navy. With venues across the United Kingdom, the museums detail the history of the Royal Navy operating ...

, and it was rebranded as NMRN Hartlepool. The PS ''Wingfield Castle'', preserved at the Museum of Hartlepool is a floating exhibit and cafe. There are hundreds of other exhibits in the museum charting the history of the town from prehistoric times right up to the present day. One of the most popular features is the description of the Hartlepool monkey legend. Others include a full size

coble The coble is a type of open traditional fishing boat which developed on the North East coast of England. The southernmost examples occur around Hull (although Cooke drew examples at Yarmouth, see his ''Shipping and Craft'' series of drawin ...

boat, a lighthouse, a shell from the Bombardment of Hartlepool and many ships' models and engine displays. The site saw improvements in 2006/2007 including a renewed Fighting Ships which is an audio/visual tour of a warship. There is now a new character which is Jim Henshaw, a young powder monkey. include an HMS ''Trincomalee'' Exhibition, Viewing Balcony overlooking HMS ''Trincomalee'', upgrading and re-design of the Maritime Adventure Centre and the restoration of PS ''Wingfield Castle''.

References

External links

The National Museum of the Royal Navy Hartlepool

Official website
— includes pictures and video clips
Hartlepool's Maritime Experience from This is Hartlepool
{{Hartlepool Museums established in 1994 1994 establishments in England Hartlepool Museums in County Durham Maritime museums in England Living museums in England