HMS Trincomalee: Paint job for oldest warship

Three of the painters had to work while dangling from ropes

The oldest warship afloat has received a fresh coat of paint, bringing it closer to the way it would have looked when launched more than 200 years ago.

HMS Trincomalee - now the main attraction at the National Museum of the Royal Hartlepool - was built in India for the Royal Navy in 1817.

Seven painters, three using ropes to paint its sides, have spent five weeks repainting the whole exterior.

The work will also preserve the vessel, making it less vulnerable to weather.

The exterior of the ship was painted in the historically correct shades of black and a creamy white, but small alterations were made to create a look more accurate to when it was launched.

These included painting the bulwarks light green, and the inside of the gun ports dark red.

Gilding was applied to the ship's name on the stern, and to the cat face carvings on the ends of the timbers holding the anchors to the sides.

HMS Trincomalee - shown here before its revamp - is the centrepiece of the waterfront museum

The mammoth task involved 600 litres of primer, 115 litres of black, 50 litres of white, and 10 each of green and maroon, as well as 2,500 gold leaves.

Clare Hunt, from the National Museum of the Royal Navy Hartlepool, says: "Of course, HMS Trincomalee looks even more magnificent following her paint job but, perhaps even more importantly, her protection from the weather has been improved.

"Included in the painters' tasks was a significant amount of re-caulking of the ship's sides, meaning that seams which have failed and were letting in water, have been sealed again.

"It is just one of the important cycles of maintenance carried out in order to preserve this lovely ship."