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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 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 |
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