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This
news page is current for Spring 2008
James Atkinson and Robert Sale
It is very sad to report the death in the period leading up to Christmas
of two of our most respected and hard-working Trustees.
James Atkinson, Chairman of
the Trust since September 2006, was deeply involved in the community
of Hartlepool and particularly everything to
do with its maritime activities. He brought an enthusiasm for display
and involvement to all of the Trust’s activities. Robert Sale,
a long-serving Trustee and former banker, saw through the restoration
project and the transition now to the more public-facing aspects of our
work. His understanding of the financial sector, and his influence, were
considerable assets to the Trust. Both will be sadly missed, and our
condolences are extended to their families and friends.
Commodore Paul Sutermeister, the Vice Chairman, is now Acting Chairman,
pending the appointment of a Chairman to succeed James Atkinson.
Capital Grants
The Trust is delighted to
acknowledge the award of two recent generous grants that support the
current programme of capital works. The Esmée
Fairbairn Foundation has awarded the Trust £19,500 towards the
rigging project, which is excellent as the Foundation had provided substantial
revenue support to the Trust earlier. We are also very pleased with a
further award from the Heritage Lottery Fund of up to £120,000.
This money will be used towards the rigging project along with the further
interpretation works within the Ship. It is great that the
various projects are now funded, and we are grateful to everyone who
has helped us reach this position.
The Current Projects
We are now busily getting
underway a range of exciting projects. The Trincomalee Exhibition to
be housed in a quayside gallery is advancing
well in conjunction with the Designers, Continuum. Much research has
been undertaken in-house and the challenge now is to confirm the text
and graphics and get some of the film material into a usable form. The
aim is to have the Exhibition in place for the early part of the 2008
season. Running alongside this is work to provide further interpretation
within the Ship, and this is also being done in conjunction with Continuum.
It will aim to give a better understanding of life on board during the
Ship’s commissioned days. Here again we anticipate that much of
the interpretation will be in place by the early season, but it is taking
second place to the Exhibition just now.
The third project involves increasing the size of the ShipShop. This
area which doubles as our reception and information point is very cramped
at busy times, and the opportunity to making it larger will also enable
some more sales lines to be included.
Finally, in the Ship herself, work has already started to replace the
lower rigging on all three masts, changing the manila cordage to polypropylene
as we have already done with the upper rigging. The difference now is
that we are doing the work ourselves and it is a big job for a small
team of three! With favourable weather it is hoped that it will be completed
by mid-summer, and in the meantime there are fascinating opportunities
for the public to see our riggers at work.
Trincomalee Wharf
The plan to sublease this
land adjacent to Jackson Dock to a private developer for a mixed-use
development is now virtually in place. The
Developer has submitted an outline planning application to Hartlepool
Borough Council for what will be a most exciting series of buildings
and routeways that will complete the jigsaw of development surrounding
the magnificent marina. It is hoped that the key elements of the development
will be completed in time for when Hartlepool hosts the final stage of
the Tall Ships Races in August 2010. The Trust will receive a capital
receipt in stages, which is an important element in the Trust’s
financial strategy for the future.
Fundraising and Events
The Trust has done well in the last year in raising funds for the various
projects shown above, and it is right to record once again the superb
support of the Northern Rock Foundation for the Trincomalee Exhibition
with both capital and a three year revenue grant.
We are now looking to the
next phase, and whilst raising funds for capital projects will always
be necessary in some shape or form, the revenue
side of things – the day to day running – can very often
be the more taxing for charities like ours. One of the ways through this
is to increase throughput and especially by the staging of more events,
activities and functions. These can also often produce a greater secondary
spend through the ShipShop – so a better facility there is important.
In the wake of some very successful
and well-attended recent events – Trafalgar
Night, Halloween and the Christmas event by way of example - the Trust
will now be looking to build a more comprehensive programme of events
and activities – not only by itself, but in conjunction with partners.
It will take a little while, but this is certainly the direction of progress.
Moving on
I have let the Trustees know that it is my intention to retire and stand
down from the position of General Manager at some time this summer. Having
been involved with the project now for more than ten years, Jean and
I are looking to move back to North Wales to do something different.
Almost everything in heritage management seems to take twice as long
and costs twice as much as your worst calculations (as I know from working
previously with Castles and Country Houses in North Wales!), but the
task here has been to complete the restoration of the Ship and fulfil
a strategy that will give the Trust a sporting chance of financial success
and stability in the future. I am confident that with the conclusion
of our current projects this will be the case and that it is the right
decision to move on later this year and let someone else take the Trust
forward.
Bryn Hughes
General Manager
HMS Trincomalee Trust
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