Pupils unveil murals as part of £3.5m revamp of Fort Nelson - Tuesday, 15 February 2011
School children unveiled four brightly coloured and eye-catching murals yesterday (Monday 14 February) as part of the £3.5m revamp of the Royal Armouries Museum at Fort Nelson.
Pupils from Northern Junior School, Portchester, created the works of art, which now take pride of place on the construction hoardings at the Victorian fort near Fareham.
Four youngsters – Mollie Dack, aged 10, Ellie Bezani-Cox, 9, Ramon Poate, 9, and 7-year-old Frankie Lacey – came up with the designs, and all the school’s pupils helped to colour them in. The artwork included designs relating to Forts, Portsdown Hill and Fort Nelson itself.
Teacher Lyn Keemer said, “We really enjoyed the project and every child has been involved. I am delighted with the end result – the murals are fantastic.”
The Royal Armouries has worked closely with Northern Junior School in the past year as part of its education partnership. Youngsters have been involved in a variety of projects, including putting together a time capsule and launching the Royal Armouries’ fund-raising campaign last May.
The museum revamp – part-funded by a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of almost £2m – will see the Victorian Fort refurbished sympathetically into a modern visitor attraction, complete with a breathtaking glass-sided gallery, The Voice of the Guns. Other features include a visitor centre with catering, shop and parking facilities, plus brand new, state-of-the art education facilities including a ‘classroom of the future’.
National construction company Mansell – who were awarded a £2.25m contract last summer to build the new visitor centre and gallery – donated the materials for the murals project, including paint, varnish and timber panels.
Work is due to complete during the summer of 2011. The Fort remains open during the construction period.
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Media contact
Joss Loader
Primary PR Ltd.
Tel: 07838 379599
Email: info@primarypr.co.uk
Notes to editors
- The Royal Armouries at Fort Nelson houses the national collection of historic cannon and big guns. The museum houses one of the world’s finest collections with over 350 cannon dating back over 600 years. The collection originated at HM Tower of London and has been on display in Hampshire since 1995.
- The Royal Armouries at Fort Nelson also tells the story of the Palmerston Forts, built to protect Portsmouth from a feared French invasion in the 1860’s.
- Fort Nelson is open every day except 24-26 December. April to October 10am –5pm (Wed 11am-5pm), November – March 10.30am – 4pm (Wed 11.30-4pm).
- Admission to the Royal Armouries is FREE.
- Admission charges apply to some events.
- Information line: 01329 233734
- Website: www.royalarmouries.org
- Email: fnenquiries@armouries.org.uk
- The Royal Armouries is the national museum of arms and armour with sites at Fort Nelson, Leeds, HM Tower of London and Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
- To support the work of the Royal armouries; make a donation at justgiving.com
- The Royal Armouries Museum should not be confused with Royal Armouries International plc, the private sector corporate hospitality business.
Download the PDF press release.