Nelson's silver tableware is displayed in HMS Victory's Great Cabin, set as if he has just stepped out before dinner, with his steward preparing the table.
Nelson's silver tableware is on display in the Great Cabin of HMS Victory in Portsmouth, starting Wednesday 22 July. It's a short run — six Wednesdays only, from 22 July to 26 August — so if you're planning to go, you'll want to pick your date early.
The scene is set as if Nelson has just stepped out before dinner, with his steward preparing the table and sharing the stories behind him. It's a domestic, human glimpse into the life of a man usually seen as a statue or a painting, and seeing the tableware in the very cabin where it would have been used puts it in a completely different light.
It's worth remembering where you're standing, too. HMS Victory is the world's oldest commissioned warship, floated out at Chatham in 1765 and moved to dry dock in Portsmouth in 1922. The ship is currently undergoing 'HMS Victory: The Big Repair,' a £42 million conservation project, so the tableware is just one part of what's going on around the site right now.
Every week we pick 🏆 the 5 best 🏆 things to do in Portsmouth and send them to your inbox. Just one weekly email, no spam.
By submitting your email, you accept our Privacy Policy
While you're there, you can also see the 'Trafalgar Sail' — the fore topsail, and the largest single surviving artefact from the Battle of Trafalgar other than the ship itself. It measures 3,618 square feet, weighs 815lbs (370kg), and carries 90 shot holes. It's got a bit of a history of its own: lost for over 20 years after 1939, it was discovered in 1962 under gym mats in a sail loft at Victory Barracks (HMS Nelson). The tableware display runs on six Wednesdays from 22 July to 26 August in the Great Cabin.
