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Work to start on new Royal Marines Museum
22 November 2024
Work will begin in February on a new museum for the Royal Marines after nearly a decade on the sidelines.
The boathouse which for a quarter of a century has hosted the Action Stations exhibit – focusing on today’s Royal Navy and physical activities and challenges – in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard will close on February 23, when the builders move in.
They will rip out existing exhibits and redesign much of the innards of the structure ready to house galleries, interactive displays and activities which bring the rich history of the Corps to life for future generations.
The Royal Marines have been without a building to tell their 360-year-long story since their former museum in Eastney closed in 2017 after it was deemed to be in need of urgent renovation – and, above all, unsuited to meeting the expectations of museum visitor in the mid-21st-Century.
After an initial bid for lottery money was turned down, the team at the National Museum of the Royal Navy redrew plans – plans which received the thumbs up from the National Lottery Heritage Fund last year, which has offered nearly £5m to support the £9.5m project.
Spanning 400 square metres of exhibition space (the size of 1½ tennis courts), the RM Museum version 2.0 – due to open in summer 2026 – is billed as an “engaging and dynamic experience”, featuring a multimedia/interactive journey through the Corps’ history.
Key to the interaction, visitors will be encouraged to take on a number of tasks which give them a taste of the level of physical and mental fitness required to be a Royal Marines Commando.
And as with its predecessor in Eastney, the building will also be used by serving and former Royal Marines for events, reunions and functions.