Gosport Diving Museum granted £800k of National Lottery funding but more support needed before opening

The National Lottery Heritage Fund have set aside £802,604 for the Gosport Diving Museum at No 2 Battery in Stokes Bay Road. Finances will go towards essential building repairs, improving the accessibility and sustainability of the site, boosting the visitor experience and enhancing public engagement.

Kevin Casey, project lead, museum director and diving society vice chair, said: “We can’t thank the players of the National Lottery enough! We are absolutely delighted that the Heritage Fund are supporting the plans for new displays and activities at the Diving Museum in Gosport. This funding award means we can deliver our ideas to bring the history and contemporary story of Diving alive - for all of our visitors, from the diving specialist to local families looking for fun.”

The opening of the site itself is still a while away. A GoFundMe page has been set up for people donate to The Historic Diving Society, with a goal of £15,000. Project volunteers are aiming to reopen the site in 2025. The page said the National Lottery funding will cover 78 per cent of the project, with the rest being raised through donations.

Mike O’Meara, Chair of Historic Diving Society, said: “We are extremely grateful to the Heritage Fund. It is a positive endorsement of our plans for new displays and activities that allow the Museum to take its place as the UK’s leading museum exploring the history of diving.”

Improvements to fix the damp and water leaks were granted by Gosport Borough Council in April. Other adaptations which were given the green light include interpretation boards for better visitor signposting, illuminated ‘Hollywood type’ signs for advertising the museum, indoor and outdoor footpaths and other features. Hampshire Council have also donated £15,000 for the site’s regeneration.

The museum is situated in a Grade II listed Victorian gun battery and showcases the history of deep sea diving. It has a collection of over 7,000 items from the ancient to the modern era, including the world’s first ever-diving helmet. Gosport is the birthplace of the global deep-sea diving industry, with the world’s first deep-sea dive undertaken by the Deane brothers in 1832.

The National Lottery have awarded a total of £7.6m worth of funding to museums across the UK, in a scheme which has supported over 5,900 sites over the past 30 years.