HMS Warrior was set to sail home to Portsmouth after restoration in 1987
While the six-year restoration of HMS Warrior neared completion, plans for the much-heralded arrival in Portsmouth of the revolutionary Victorian ironcald were beginning to take shape.
Totting up the cash invested in the restoration at Hartlepool, the financial backing from the Manpower Services Commission and Portsmouth’s expenditure on the jetty, there was not much change out of £10m.
When Warrior berthed in Hartlepool in June, Capt Allen, who was preparing the maritime enterprise, had five weeks to get his team ship-shape for the opening. ‘This summer I am expecting a daily flow of about 2,500 visitors with up to 700 onboard at one time,’ he said. ‘I want to make sure people enjoy their visit.’