Development funding of £108,000 was awarded to help progress their plans. The HLF first-round pass* means that the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) can now progress to the second stage of the HLF application process. They have up to two years to submit more detailed plans and apply for the £1.1 million of HLF support that they are seeking for their £4.2 million project. 

Stuart McLeod, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund South East, said: “We’re extremely pleased to give initial support to the Royal Naval Museum for its imaginative plans to expand and update existing gallery space. This is obviously the beginning of the journey to secure a full Heritage Lottery Fund grant and we look forward to working with the Museum as it progresses this project over the next year or so.”

"This is great news", says Dr Dominic Tweddle, Director-General of the NMRN. "Despite the remarkable achievements of the men and women of the Senior Service over the past 100 years, there is no single exhibition in this country that tells their story. We aim to put that right – and to do so here in Portsmouth, the home of the Navy. Our plan is to have the new exhibitions opened by 2014, which is the centenary of World War I. This grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund is a major boost, as it will encourage others to join in."

The project will renovate the ground floor of an 18th Century dockyard storehouse to enable a 400% increase in the space available for exhibitions on the navy and its people since 1900. A special exhibitions gallery will also be added, giving the museum the chance to commemorate famous events and anniversaries. A programme of events and activities is also planned, with a Community Outreach Officer to help local groups discover and understand how the navy has shaped their heritage.

"The 20th-century Navy is about people", says Matthew Sheldon, Head of the Museum’s Curatorial Department. "In 1944, 790,000 men and women were serving, the largest number ever. And many millions more have been connected to the Navy in this time, whether family, friends, dockyard workers, and so forth. We can tell their stories in their own words – and often in their own voices."

Notes to editors

*A first-round pass means the project meets our criteria for funding and we believe it has potential to deliver high-quality benefits and value for Lottery money. The application was in competition with other supportable projects, so a first-round pass is an endorsement of outline proposals. Having been awarded a first-round pass, the project now has up to two years to submit fully developed proposals to compete for a firm award.

On occasion an applicant with a first-round pass will also be awarded development funding towards the development of their scheme.

Using money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) sustains and transforms a wide range of heritage for present and future generations to take part in, learn from and enjoy. From museums, parks and historic places to archaeology, natural environment and cultural traditions, we invest in every part of our diverse heritage. HLF has supported 33,900 projects, allocating £4.4billion across the UK. 

The National Museum of the Royal Navy, an initiative fully supported by the Navy Board, embraces the four existing Naval Service museums (the Royal Naval Museum (Portsmouth), the Royal Marines Museum (Southsea), the Royal Navy Submarine Museum (Gosport) and the Fleet Air Arm Museum (Yeovilton)). It is a core objective of the Naval Heritage Strategy, the aim of which is to ensure that naval heritage as a whole is deployed to its full potential in promoting the Naval Service and that the full range of our heritage assets are appropriately resourced, managed and employed in a coherent manner.

Further information 

HLF Press Office: Laura Bates or Katie Owen on 020 7591 6027 / 6036 or lbates@hlf.org.uk / katieo@hlf.org.uk  Out of hours mobile on 07973 613820. 

Jacquie Shaw, National Museum of the Royal Navy on 023 9289 4557.

Melissa Gerbaldi, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard Press Office on 023 9289 4558 or melissa.gerbaldi@historicdockyard.co.uk