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Architecture Notes
Event ID 818686
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Architecture Notes
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/818686
The Trustees of the Scottish Maritime Museum were forced to apply, in May 2000, to North Ayrshire Council for listed building consent to demolish the "Carrick" - "City of Adelaide"
The forced application to demolish "Carrick" - "City of Adelaide" was the latest of a series of actions the museum has been compelled to take over the last five years as a result of the continued decline in public authority support. The public and world response to the application has been considerable. The majority of those objecting to the application to demolish such an important vessel have difficulty comprehending the lack of public financial support for a national museum which holds the most important collections of Scotland's maritime history when Scotland is known through out the world for that history.
The Trustees of the Museum had raised #1 million since they were asked, by Historic Scotland, to rescue the vessel after she had sunk in the Clyde in Glasgow. Those funds, which were from numerous sources including the European Regional Development Fund have been spent on the first phases of the restoration of the vessel. The appeal for additional funds launched by the Trustees in November 1999 failed to raise sufficient sums for the project to continue.
The Trustees received a report, commissioned by the Scottish Executive, in September 1999 which looked at the current structure and funding of the museum. "Carrick" - "City of Adelaide" was singled out in the consultants study as a "Scottish" project which required greater support than that of the museum alone.
The study recommended that, if the Trust failed to raise sufficient funds, the vessel should be offered for sale to other organisations with access to the resources to fund the restoration. "Carrick" - "City of Adelaide", has been offered for sale, at the original buying price, to Authorities and Museums in the UK, Australia and the USA. That process was commenced at the beginning of February 2000 and no buyer came forward.
The prime objective of the Trustees of the Scottish Maritime Museum is to safeguard the museum's collections. Priority in recent years has been given to raise funds to house, maintain and present the collections of national and international importance and it will be necessary for this emphasis to continue for the foreseeable future. Revenue support from public authorities has rapidly dwindled over recent years placing the museum in exceptional difficulties.
The Museum's revenue position resulted in the refusal of the Heritage Lottery Fund to consider grant applications which, in turn, led to other grant aiding organisations adopting a similar position. The museum continued to pursue an active fund raising and income earning policy. In the financial year 1999-2000 only 28% of the museum's income came from direct public authority grant.
In December 2000 the Scottish Executive announced that, together with the Scottish Fisheries and Scottish Mining Museum, the Scottish Maritime Museum would receive revenue funding from the Executive for a three year period commencing 1st April 2001. The funding was designed to ensure the survival of the three museums. In the case of the Scottish Maritime Museum the revenue funding was made available on the condition that none of the Scottish Executive's funds went towards the "Carrick" - "City of Adelaide".
With the Scottish Executive revenue funding securing the future of the museum an approach was made to the Heritage Lottery Fund to confirm that applications for support from the Scottish Maritime Museum would now be considered. The response was that applications would be accepted but that the Heritage Lottery Fund would not consider an application for "Carrick" - "City of Adelaide" and the Museum, a choice had to be made between the two. The Museum Trustees unanimously agreed that the future of the museum rested in the main display building and the national collections, therefore, any application would be for the museum project and not the vessel.
On 26th February 2001 North Ayrshire Council's Planning Committee considered the application to demolish the vessel. The application was refused on the grounds that lack of funds was not an acceptable reason to demolish an "A" listed structure. This still leaves the museum with an "A" listed vessel with no funds to restore the vessel and an inability to pay the rent for the restoration slipway. A demand for that rent will place the Scottish Maritime Museum in the hands of the liquidator.
The interest of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and his willingness to participate in a conference is welcome by the Trustees of the Scottish Maritime Museum. Their hope is that a positive outcome from the conference will save the vessel and secure the future of the Museum and its collections.
"Carrick" - "City of Adelaide" A Brief History
The ship was launched in 1864 from the yard of W. Pile, Hay & Co., of Sunderland. The owners were based in Britain but included former emigrants to South Australia who had returned and who still had business interests there. The "City of Adelaide" was designed to carry both cargo and passengers, and was fitted with the highest quality of first class accommodation for a sailing ship. Second class passengers were also carried and, when necessary, basic emigrant accommodation was provided. "City of Adelaide" was one of the sailing vessels which gave a regular annual service to the ports of South Australia over the second half of the nineteenth century and as such were of fundamental importance to the development of the colony.
"City of Adelaide" was sold in 1887 and like many vessels of a similar type was used for bulk cargo transporting, firstly, as a collier working between the Tyne and Dover, and secondly, on the North Atlantic timber trade. In 1893 the ship's days under sail ended when she was bought by Southampton Corporation, but this was, in fact, the beginning of a long period, lasting almost 100 years, during which the "City of Adelaide", was converted for several widely differing purposes. Thirty years as a floating isolation hospital at Southampton; twenty three years, renamed HMS "Carrick", with the Admiralty, as an RNVR drill ship and wartime DEMS training ship at Greenock on the Clyde; and finally forty four years as the "Carrick", the floating premises of the RNVR (Scotland) Club, moored on the Clyde at Glasgow.
The failure of an initial attempt to preserve the vessel by a newly established body, the Clyde Ship Trust, led to the involvement of the Scottish Maritime Museum. The ship, by 1991 in dire straits and at risk of total loss, was, through a very large scale operation, salvaged and removed in 1992 to Irvine, the headquarters of the Scottish Maritime Museum, for preservation and future restoration.
The vessel is the only vessel in Scotland to merit being listed by Historic Scotland as an "A" listed building. The vessel is one of 48 vessels identified by the National Historic Ships Committee as part of the UK Core Collection of vessels of major historical significance. She is the only sailing passenger ship from the 19th century on that list. She is the only vessel that has been both Royal Navy and Merchant. She is one of only six vessels in Scotland on the core collection list.
(Undated) information in NMRS.