30 Years of the National Lottery has been Game Changing for The Historic Dockyard Chatham
30 Years of the National Lottery has been Game Changing for The Historic Dockyard Chatham
On 19 November, the National Lottery is celebrating its 30th anniversary—a landmark achievement that has seen investment in over 47,000 projects across the UK from over £8.6bn raised by National Lottery players.
For the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, the support received from National Lottery players through the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) has been truly transformational. Quite simply we would not have been able to achieve what we have over the past 30 years without their support.
Between 1997 and 2006, The Historic Dockyard received £13 million across eight projects to assist the conservation and enhancement of the Dockyard to secure its future. Since 2006, a further c.£19 million has been awarded bringing the total that the NLHF has provided in grants to c.£32million. These Dockyard projects include the preservation and restoration of Command of the Oceans, No. 1 Smithery, HMS CAVALIER, and the Fitted Rigging House.
Supporting Heritage
Most recently, Dr Simon Thurley CBE, Chair of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, was Guest of Honour at our annual Trafalgar Night dinner. He gave an emboldening speech on the significance of the Dockyard in preserving a part of the nation’s industrial legacy, and how many of our nation’s colloquialisms, culture and traditions can be traced back to phrases and customs practised by the Royal Navy.
In November 2023, The NLHF selected Medway as one of nine areas to receive a portion of a £200 million investment through its Heritage Places initiative. This initiative addresses local needs and opportunities, aiming to leverage heritage to foster local pride, engage communities, and drive regeneration efforts.
In its initial investment phase, the program will support Medway’s heritage community in crafting a long-term vision for the area’s heritage, developing fresh ideas and approaches, and uncovering untold stories that deserve recognition.
Curating for Change
The Historic Dockyard is a partner of the Curating for Change initiative that was awarded £1,067,300 by the NLHF in 2020. This groundbreaking project provides curatorial work placements for D/deaf, disabled, and neurodiverse people. It specifically aims to tackle the under-representation of disabled people in museums. Through this project, The Historic Dockyard has launched the ‘Disability Trailblazers‘ trail, curated by Curating for Change Fellow Suchi Chatterjee. Suchi has been working with a volunteer Co-Production Group to uncover and share disability history connected to Chatham Dockyard and the Royal Navy.
Funding for Game-Changing projects
Here at The Historic Dockyard, we have benefitted significantly from NLHF awards. The theme “Game changing” for their 30th year, unequivocally has enabled us to make “game-changing” developments across our estate enabling our heritage to be valued, and cared for and sustained for everyone now and in the future.
Our most recent National Lottery Heritage Fund (NHLF) funded projects:
No.1 smithery
The National Lottery Heritage Fund contributed £4.8 million towards this £13 million project, which opened to the public in 2010.
A joint project between The Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, Royal Museums Greenwich, and Imperial War Museums on an initiative inviting visitors to explore remarkable stories through objects, art, and interactive experiences. This project successfully transformed No.1 Smithery—a building formerly listed on Historic England’s ‘At Risk’ Register—into a cutting-edge cultural centre showcasing over 3,000 ship models and artefacts from partner collections. Some of these are now featured in the permanent exhibition gallery Maritime Treasures.
Funding also enabled the creation of a temporary exhibition gallery, allowing the Dockyard to host a variety of travelling exhibitions, such as Titanic and Brick History, which presents world history through LEGO displays.
In 2025, a new exhibition Brickwrecks: Sunken Ships in Lego® Bricks will set sail to No.1 Smithery featuring large-scale LEGO® models of ships such as Western Australia’s famous BATAVIA, and the “unsinkable” TITANIC, and the ill-fated HMS TERROR & HMS EREBUS. We invite you to uncover the stories of the voyages, life aboard the ships, their watery demise and the shipwreck detectives who locate and document the wrecks.
Command of the Oceans
The National Lottery Heritage Fund generously contributed £4.9 million to help realise this £9.6 million project. The project has received multiple awards and was shortlisted for the prestigious RIBA Stirling Prize for Architecture in 2017.
In 1995, routine maintenance uncovered a collection of ship timbers beneath the floor of the Wheelwrights’ Shop. At the time, there was no record of these timbers or any indication of why they had been stored there.
Historic Ships
Following a comprehensive archaeological investigation, the timbers were identified as the remains of the HMS NAMUR—a 2nd Rate Ship of the Line constructed at Chatham in 1756. This discovery was hailed as “the most significant maritime archaeological find since the Mary Rose.”
After an extensive planning and development phase, we launched the Command of the Oceans project, creating a suite of galleries depicting the Age of Sail and the pivotal role of Chatham and the Royal Dockyard in supporting the Naval Fleet and driving economic growth in the 18th century. The preserved remains of the NAMUR now serve as the centrepiece of these galleries, accompanied by artefacts recovered from the shipwreck of the HMS INVINCIBLE (1747), which help illustrate life aboard a ship during the age of sail.
a NEW visitor entrance
Command of the Oceans was completed in 2016. with a striking new building; inserted between two existing Scheduled Ancient Monuments, the Wheelwrights’ Shop and the Mast House & Mould Loft. Completion of this complex project allowed the Trust to completely renew its sense of arrival for all visitors, including new car parking, a restaurant, retail facilities, a community space as well as other free-to-access areas including the Discovery Centre and new outdoor play area.
Contained within Command of the Oceans is The Hearts of Oak walking cinema experience – an immersive audio-visual tour brings to life the story of a real dockyard worker, guiding visitor through the Mould Loft—the very building where the designs for Nelson’s Victory were created. During the festive season, Hearts of Oak transforms into Santa’s substation through our Mission Christmas experience, where visitors are invited to step into a magical world preserved by generations of crafty elves and diligent workers who tirelessly support Father Christmas in his holiday preparations.
The Fitted Rigging House
The National Lottery Heritage Fund has provided a generous £4.8 million investment for this transformative project.
With support from our latest NHLF funding project, Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust has transformed the once-disused Fitted Rigging House into a vibrant, mixed-use space that combines new museum facilities with commercial offices. This redevelopment has enabled us to establish the Steam, Steel, and Submarines gallery, showcasing the 19th and 20th centuries, along with a new library, reading room, archive space, and a facility for our 340 dedicated volunteers.
Importantly, the project has converted 8,000m² of previously unused space into modern office facilities, now home to several businesses, including Dovetail Games, Ward Security, and MKC Training. With over 200 people now working in the building, these businesses have made a significant economic impact, contributing approximately £30 million to the local economy.
In 2018, the Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism, Michael Ellis formally opened the first stage of the Fitted Rigging project. Five years later, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport the Rt. Hon. Lucy Frazer KC MP to officially open the final stage of the project, The Fitted Rigging House (South).
HMS Cavalier
HMS CAVALIER, the Royal Navy’s last operational World War II destroyer, received a grant of £1,156,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Until 1999, this historic ship had been slowly deteriorating. Thanks to the grant, CAVALIER has been preserved, ensuring that this remarkable piece of naval history continues to be accessible to the public and future generations.
2024 marks the 80th anniversary of HMS CAVALIER’s launch and first commission. Built to help alleviate the demands of a nation at war, she survives to this day as an important link between generations and significant episodes in our history
Thank You
Our sincere thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the players of the National Lottery for their ongoing support.
