£4.4m funding boost for Royal Marines Museum

The boathouse which for quarter of a century has hosted the Action Stations exhibit is undergoing a circa £15m transformation to turn it into a new Royal Marines Experience for the public to enjoy interactive displays and activities which bring the rich history of the Corps to life for future generations.

On the 80th anniversary of VE Day, the National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded £4.4m to transform the boathouse.

The new display will take visitors on a compelling journey through four centuries of Royal Marines history – from the creation of its forerunner in 1664 to today. 

The amazing objects, exhibitions, galleries and hands-on experiences will inspire by showcasing remarkable personal stories, immense teamwork and qualities of resilience that can help us all navigate today’s complex and often demanding world.  

Matthew Sheldon, Chief Executive Officer of the National Museum of the Royal Navy, said: “This generous support from the National Lottery and its players marks a major milestone in the delivery of an innovative approach to sharing the incredible stories of our service community. 

“It is apt that we make this announcement on VE Day - as we reflect on the contribution of our veteran community 80 years ago. The idea of the ‘Commando’ was born in the dark days of 1940, and has been shaped and re-shaped by the Royal Marines Commandos in the last 80 years. 

“Our project will have a particular focus on this recent history and seek to bring the endeavour, courage and conflict inherent in those stories to life through modern interpretative and digital techniques that enable us to speak to diverse and wide-ranging audiences.”

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.

Visitors will be able to follow the story across the ground floor of Boathouse 6, choosing to explore through an active immersive route and / or through an object-rich multi-media exploration of the history of the Corps. 

The intention is that the story of the Corps will be told in a truly active and engaging way, enabling visitors not only to learn about who the Royal Marines are (past and present), but also inviting them to partake in a number of tasks designed to give a taste of the level of physical and mental fitness required to do the job. Displays and their content will draw on examples past and present and will put the Royal Marines ethos at the heart of the story.  

The boathouse project will also house a new dedicated exhibition gallery and Royal Marines-themed laser quest. This new extraordinary, compelling and flexible space inside the historic former boathouse and overlooking the Scheduled Monument and Grade II* Listed Mast Pond will measure 400 square metres, creating one of the biggest temporary exhibition spaces in the South of England. 

This will enable the museum to stage temporary exhibitions that refresh the offer at the Historic Dockyard and can attract new and different audiences, create opportunities for wider partnership working and explore a wide range of arts, culture and heritage narratives.