As of February 6, 2026, visitors in Portsmouth, Hampshire, can now see parts of HMS Victory that have been hidden for more than two centuries thanks to new scaffolding walkways. The National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) has opened these platforms as part of Victory Live: The Big Repair, a £42 million conservation project to tackle widespread moisture-related decay in the ship’s hull.
Specialists have been removing later outer planking—much of which dates from 20th-century repairs—to expose the ship’s original 18th-century oak frames installed when Victory was built and launched in 1765. The work responds to moisture trapped between hull layers that has caused timber decay and contributed to the vessel’s long-term sagging.
The new three-storey viewing platforms, part of the Victory Live experience at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, allow visitors to observe specialist shipwrights working close to the hull under guided, operationally controlled conditions. Access to the scaffolded platforms is included with Portsmouth Historic Dockyard admission; the ship’s exterior is largely covered by the protective scaffold and tent while conservation is underway.
HMS Victory — a commissioned Royal Navy ship and the flagship of the First Sea Lord — remains open for its normal internal visitor tours while the Big Repair continues. Project organisers describe this as the most significant conservation work on the ship in its roughly 260-year history.
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