Royal Naval Museums, Portsmouth

The Royal Naval Museums stand in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, beside HMS Victory. Three Grade I listed buildings face the ship: No. 11 Storehouse from 1763 and No. 10 Storehouse from 1776. A 1938 purpose-built Victory Gallery stands alongside the warship. The museum also includes HMS M33, a First World War monitor opened to visitors in 2015. Together they form part of the National Museum of the Royal Navy. The museum began in 1911 as the Dockyard Museum thanks to Mark Edwin Pescott-Frost. His early collecting saved many artefacts now on display. In 1938 the Victory Gallery opened to show items from HMS Victory. Later galleries tell the story of Nelson, life in the sailing navy and the experiences of ordinary sailors. Temporary exhibitions and the Trafalgar Sail add to the displays. Visitors walk through restored storehouses linked by a glass atrium. The Babcock Galleries show the modern navy’s history. The Nelson Gallery presents the life of Horatio Nelson. The Sailing Navy Gallery brings the age of sail to life. HMS Hear My Story shares tales from the last century of naval service.