Cutty Sark restoration nears completion (From News Shopper)

Cutty Sark restoration nears completion

12:05pm Tuesday 10th April 2012 in Out & About By Nina Massey

FINAL preparations are underway on the Cutty Sark exhibition which is set to open later this month.

Amongst the items on display will be 80 ships’ figureheads – including the Cutty Sark’s original figurehead Nannie.

They are being installed in the dry berth under the hull and will be revealed to the public on April 25, when the ship is reopened by the Queen.

It is the largest collection of merchant navy figureheads in the world and has never before been displayed at the site in its entirety.

Among the carved figures are famous faces including Benjamin Disraeli and Florence Nightingale.

A conservation project on the 143-year-old clipper began in 2006 and was derailed by a devastating fire months after work began.

The ship has now been lifted three metres into the air and surrounded with a ‘sea’ of glass.

The ship is located at King William Walk in Greenwich. For more information on the Cutty Sark visit cuttysark.org.uk