HMS Unicorn receives 'incredible' £796,000 grant

The ship will be the centrepiece of a new maritime heritage centre.

HMS Unicorn, Scotland's oldest ship, has received a £796,000 grant toward the cost of moving it to a new dry dock.

The 201-year-old vessel is being relocated as part of the Project Safe Haven restoration scheme that will see it become the centrepiece of a new maritime heritage centre.

The latest donation comes from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF).

A campaign to raise a further £650,000 by April, which will unlock additional grants worth £10m from other bodies including the Tay Cities Deal, is currently under way.

The ship will be the centrepiece of a new maritime heritage centre

HMS Unicorn was moved to Dundee in 1873 to become a training ship for the Royal Navy Reserves.

Structural reinforcement work on the hull of the ship is currently ongoing.

Future work includes emptying Dundee's East Graving Dock, repairing it with a new watertight chamber, making it structurally sound, and refilling it to receive HMS Unicorn, which will be floated over a supportive cradle.

HMS Unicorn is the third-oldest ship in the world and has been under the care of the Unicorn Preservation Society since 1968.

The 46-gun frigate was built during peacetime and launched in 1824, spending its early life in reserve, anchored on the River Medway in the south east of England.

HMS Unicorn was built in Chatham Dockyard in Kent

The £796,00 has been awarded at the first round of development funding from NLHF.

Detailed proposals will be considered by NLHF at a second round, where a final decision will be made later this year on the full funding award of £3.3m.

Unicorn Preservation Society Executive Director Matthew Bellhouse Moran said the latest funding was "incredible" but warned that "the clock is ticking."

He said: "We urgently need the support of individuals, businesses, and organisations to raise the finance needed for the next stage of Project Safe Haven, moving HMS Unicorn into Dundee's East Graving Dock, ensuring she doesn't succumb to the wear and tear of time."

The ship received £1.11m from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) in July 2023.