Cutty Sark reopens to the public today (plus David Starkey's Royal River)

Cutty Sark reopens to the public today (plus David Starkey's Royal River)

26 April, 2012
by: Spoonfed Arts Team

The purists may be disgruntled, but families will love the new look Cutty Sark, which opens today.

Amid much patriotic flag-waving, dewy-eyed Empire nostalgia and even a visit from Her Majesty The Queen, the Cutty Sark, one of London's best-loved visitor attractions, finally reopens to the public today. The famous Greenwich-based ship – once the fastest clipper in the world – has undergone extensive conservation work since 2006, costing a total of some £50 million.

The combination of fire damage in 2007 with the kind of wear and tear to be expected of a ship built way back in 1869 has made this conservation project one of the most complex of all time – the aims being to prevent the Cutty Sark from collapsing, save as much of the original fabric as possible, and ensure that it can remain a popular visitor attraction for years to come.

The result is that the ship has been raised eleven feet into the air to remove the pressure from the keel, as well as allow visitors to view the vessel from underneath. The cramped space below deck is now home to an enlightening (if a little Disneyfied) multimedia exploration of the Cutty Sark's history, whilst up on deck, visitors can explore various quarters, turn the ship's wheel and admire the view across the Thames to the steel and glass high-rises of Docklands.

The result is certainly fun and eye-catching, although predictably the purists are upset, and there's admittedly something to be said for the Dan Houston, editor of Classic Boat magazine's description of the whole enterprise as “putting heritage in aspic”. But then that's a perennial problem of conservation.

Opening just the day after the Cutty Sark is the David Starkey-curated Royal River just round the corner at the National Maritime Museum. The second exhibition in the museum's brilliant new Sammy Ofer Wing, Starkey's exhibition charts the history of the Thames through the way it's been used by successive generations of royals – from expressions of power to fun and frippery. With some wonderful objects, fascinating stories and a healthy heap of Canalettos, this is a grand and elegantly presented exhibition. The only slight problem is that, unlike Starkey's last curatorial effort – the quite brilliant Henry VIII show at the British Library – Royal River doesn't really challenge or make you think quite as much as you might have hoped.

Royal River is at the National Maritime Museum until 9th September 2012.

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Spoonfed Arts Team