HMS Trincomalee

Oldest British warship still afloat, restored to her 1817 condition

The HMS Trincomalee is the headline reason to come to Hartlepool. Launched in 1817 in Bombay, she is the oldest British warship still afloat — older than the USS Constitution by some measures, if you count which ship has stayed in the water longest. The teak hull is the original; the rigging and most of the deck fittings are exact recreations.

You can walk every deck from the captain's cabin down to the orlop deck below the waterline, with displays showing what life was like for the 240-odd crew. Combined ticket gets you the National Museum of the Royal Navy next door. Allow two hours for the ship alone.

things to do museum landmark
A story
The Trincomalee was built in Bombay because the Napoleonic Wars had stripped England of its oak; her hull is Malabar teak, which is why she has lasted more than 200 years. She arrived too late for the war she was built for and spent most of her career as a drillship before a 1990s restoration brought her back to seagoing fighting trim.