Leaking maritime museum to close for repairs

A grant of £499,000 from the Arts Council’s Museum Estate and Development Fund has enabled work to take place

An attraction that houses an extensive collection of boats will close for six weeks next year while repairs take place to fix leaks in the building’s roof.

The National Maritime Museum in Falmouth has suffered with leaks for "many years", according to a spokesperson.

They added previous attempts had been made to repair the roof, but no lasting solutions had been found and the leaks had continually returned.

The latest fix is a "more radical approach" and involves the "complete replacement of the roofing system and an increase in the overall drainage by providing additional drainage outlets and weatherproofing", the spokesperson said.

'More buckets than boats'

Richard Doughty, director of National Maritime Museum Cornwall, said: "There have been too many times when, throughout our building, you could find more buckets to catch the rainwater drips than boats.

"At long last it’s time to banish the buckets and create a better environment for our visitors, staff and collections."

The attraction's spokesperson said a grant of £499,000 from the Arts Council’s Museum Estate and Development Fund had enabled work to take place.

The museum houses the National Small Boat Collection and 15 galleries to "enrich our understanding of the sea and Cornwall".

The closure will begin on 6 January, with the museum expected to reopen on 15 February.