Case Study: HMS Belfast
The Client: The HMS Belfast, a ship which originally served during the Second World War and Korean War; it is now permanently moored in London, and is open to the public as part of the Imperial War Museum
Brief: To restore the Wardroom, Anteroom, Admiral’s Quarters and bar to how they were in the 1950s.
Our Role: The project included restoring the Wardroom, Anteroom and the Admiral’s Quarters to how they were in the 1950s – i.e. removing many of the changes that had been made during an initial restoration in the 1970s and 1980s. We also manufactured the replica of the striking and unusual bar in the Wardroom Anteroom.
Comments: This project was challenging, as access to the rooms was through small hatches, and the ship remained open during the refit, so we had to work around the general public whilst trying not to cause much disruption!
Project Details
Admiral’s Dining Room: The Admiral’s Dining Room is within the Admiral’s Quarters on Deck 3 of the ship. We did extensive investigations with traditional companies such as Formica®, for the surfaces. The original wallpaper came from Sanderson; not surprisingly, that particular design has been discontinued, but we were able to get a close match, and everyone was pleased with the results.
Wardroom and Anteroom: The Wardroom, on Deck 2, is where the ship’s officers had their meals. The Anteroom, opposite the Wardroom, is where they relaxed when off-duty. We based our restoration partly on old black-and-white photos, taking great effort to maintain the original look of the rooms.
Wardroom Anteroom Bar: The Anteroom has a very striking bar at one end. We manufactured a reproduction as close to the original as possible.
Final Comment: This was one of the most interesting restoration projects we’ve done. We felt like we were helping the public find out more about a valuable piece of British military history!
More information about the HMS Belfast
You can find out visitor information about the HMS Belfast here; there is also a virtual tour of these rooms and the rest of the ship here. (NB The tour does not work in all internet browers.)
Find out more about the history of the HMS Belfast on Wikipedia.
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