Sue and I visited the Prince Philip Collections Centre back in November 2021. On that occasion we went on a ‘behind the scenes’ tour; this time our visit was part of the programme of Heritage Open Days that took place from 12th to 16th September. This year's theme was Astounding Inventions, and we took part in the morning tour on Wednesday 14th September.
The group we joined assembled in the reception area, and at just after 10.30am the seven of us, accompanied by two members of staff, set off on our tour. Initially we went from the modern main building to the storage buildings. These were originally built as part of the RAF Kidbrooke, which had been a stores, maintenance, and training facility from 1917 to 1965. These old buildings have now been repurposed as dedicated, temperature-controlled storage.
The first exhibit that we looked at was a wonderfully detailed ship model of Brunei’s Great Eastern under construction at Millwall.
The model is incredibly detailed, ...
... and includes a vignette of Brunel inspecting the half-finished ship …
… and the boat used by a painter who painted several pictures of the ship during her career.
We then passed on to the area where various larger items are stored, ...
... including the carbon filament used to light a lighthouse before the invention of the light bulb ...
... and an early quick-firing gun.
We ended our tour back in the main building, where we spent some time in one of the picture storage areas, where we were able to examine a paining of the bombardment of Algiers.
By this time our hour-long tour was up, and after thanking the staff for everything that they had done, we returned home.
The Centre organises 'behind the scenes' tours every first Thursday in the month, and the cost of this longer tour is well worth it if you have any interest in things maritime. They also run 'Make, do and maintain' sessions on every third Saturday in the month (the cost is £1.00 for the booking fee and the session lasts from 10.30am to midday) and 'Saturday Super Store Tours' which last an hour and cost £12.00.
Interesting to see the original of the Bombardment of Algiers. My father-in-law for many years had a large print of this on the wall - he was a big sailing navy fan.
ReplyDeleteAnthony Clipsom,
DeleteDuring out tour, we were given some background information about the painting and the painter.
Your father-in-law would have loved the picture storage area, which contained hundreds of paintings,
All the best,
Bob
Chatham Dockyard sometime has behind the scenes tours, which are the only way to see much of the model collection formerly in the NMM
ReplyDeleteNigel Drury,
DeleteA large number of ship models are also stored at the Prince Philip Collections Centre, and I saw some of them on my previous visit. I am sure that it might be possible to arrange a special tour of the ship models at the Centre as the staff are very keen to make it have a strong community presence.
They are running a ‘Delve Deeper’ tour of the ship models at the Centre on 17th November at 7.00pm and will last for ninety minutes (https://www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/prince-philip-maritime-collections-centre/delve-deeper-specialist-tours). The cost is £20.00 for non-members and £10.00 for members.
All the best,
Bob
That model is spectacular
ReplyDeleteGeordie an Exile FoG,
DeleteMy photos don’t do the model justice; it is even more detailed when seen up close.
All the best,
Bob