Bid to build permanent berth for historic Dundee ship

HMS Unicorn has been berthed in Dundee since 1873

A campaign is underway to raise over £1m to build Scotland's oldest existing ship a permanent home in Dundee.

HMS Unicorn, which was built in 1824, has been berthed in the city since 1873 and is now a museum ship.

The new money would be spent on building Unicorn a stable, elevated cradle, which campaigners say is necessary to secure its long-term future as the ship is structurally at risk.

HMS Unicorn has secured almost £2m in public funding since 2023 as well as substantial private donations.

HMS Unicorn was built in the Chatham Dockyard in Kent and entered service with the Royal Navy in 1824.

A frigate of the Leda class, the ship was built after the end of the Napoleonic wars and so was never rigged with sails.

It spent its early life in reserve, anchored on the River Medway in the south east of England and was moved to Dundee in 1873 to become a training ship for the Royal Navy Reserves.

It is hoped the Unicorn will form the centre of a maritime museum in Dundee

The Unicorn Preservation Society, which owns the ship and runs the museum, hopes the 'Lead the Lift' campaign will help secure the physical survival of the ship and fund work to make it an inclusive and accessible space for the community.

The society is also committing to support and "champion engineering innovation" through sustainable design and skilled craftmanship.

Dr Andrew Tibbs, chief executive of the Unicorn Preservation Society, said: "HMS Unicorn is an internationally important treasure.

"Lead the Lift is about much more than preservation – it is about securing her survival, transforming her dockside home, and creating new opportunities for education, skills, and community connection.

"We are inviting individuals, businesses, and partners to join us in this once-in-a-generation project."

HMS Unicorn was built in Chatham Dockyard in Kent

HMS Unicorn has been the recipient of a number of funding awards in recent years.

In January, it received a £796,000 grant toward the cost of moving it to a new dry dock, part of the Project Safe Haven restoration scheme to create a new maritime heritage centre.

The money came from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF).

In July 2023, the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) donated £1.11m towards Unicorn's continued restoration and preservation.

The preservation work is to restore the hull to improve resilience ahead of any move to dry dock.

At the time, the society said the money provided 95.69% of the total financial investment needed for immediate conservation repairs to the ship.

This includes replacing rotten hull timbers and preserving as much of the original fabric of the ship as possible.

Previously, the Headley Trust gave a £100,000 grant and the American entrepreneur John Paul DeJoria gave £20,000 to help with the restoration work.