Masts to be removed from HMS Victory as part of £42m conservation work

The masts from Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson’s flagship HMS Nelson are to be removed in the latest stage of a £42 million conservation project.

Starting on Monday evening, a 750-tonne crane will lift the mizzen (rear), foremast (front) and bowsprit (bow) and lay it by the side of the 18th century warship at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

The removals come after the main mast was removed in 2021 as part of the project which will next involve a scaffolding structure enclosing the ship which will remain in place until the conservation work is completed in 2033.

Riggers working on a mast of HMS Victory at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard (National Museum Royal Navy/PA)PA Media - National Museum Royal Navy

Andrew Baines, executive director of museum operations for National Museum of the Royal Navy, said: “This is a key moment for The Big Repair project, being the first time Victory will have been without all her masts since the early 1890s.

“Our team has planned this step in meticulous detail, but we still have to work around factors like the weather.

“That’s why we will carry out the lifts overnight, so we can work safely and without interruption for several hours at a time.”

HMS Victory is the world’s oldest commissioned warship (PA)PA Archive/PA Images - Andrew Matthews

He added: “The operation itself will be impressive with a 750-tonne crane rigged on site for a week.

“We have learned a huge amount from the removal of main lower mast in 2021 and once all masts are removed and safely stored, we can begin the critical work of conserving them before their eventual return to the ship in 2033.”

Stuart Sheldon, NMRN lead rigger, said: “HMS Victory matters to people in a way few objects do. That brings real pressure, and it should.

“This lift is complex and it needs absolute precision. Putting the plan into action on the night will be a career highlight for the whole team.”

Nelson’s flagship will undergo a 10-year, £42m project to conserve the ship for future generations (National Museum Royal Navy/PA)PA Media - National Museum Royal Navy

HMS Victory, which is the world’s oldest commissioned warship, was famously Nelson’s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar, and it was on the ship’s quarterdeck that he was fatally shot by a French sniper on October 21 1805.

Victory was first floated out at Chatham in 1765 but by the 1920s was in poor condition and moved to dry dock in Portsmouth, Hampshire, in 1922.