This pioneering project looks forward to welcoming you to its state of the art facility and sharing the many treasures it holds with you for this complimentary visit for members of the Blackheath Society.

This tour allows you to witness an object’s journey from storage to display. After an initial briefing you will start the first part of your tour by exploring the stores and discovering some of the many hidden treasures within. You will then be led by a conservator through the conservation studios experiencing the work involved in preparing an object for display and the research we do.

You will be welcome to ask questions, and take advantage of the experts knowledge. Bring a pencil if you plan to take notes (pens not allowed), and some photography is permitted. There will be a certain amount of standing, so wear comfy shoes and something warm as it can be chilly. Unfortunately there is no cafe, so if you need sustenance please bring a drink and snack! We will meet at Kidbrooke Station ticket office at 10.15 am.

Numbers are limited if you would like to come please inform the Society Office asap.

Review:

We now have a most fascinating resource available to us locally next to the station in Kidbrooke.  The Centre has existed as a store for the Maritime Museum since 1972. The wartime buildings of RAF Kidbrooke are used for storage of over 37000 objects.  The historic buildings are interesting in themselves, having been used among other things to store London’s barrage balloons in World War II. A purpose built, state of the art Conservation and Collections Centre also now occupies the site and was opened to the public in 2018.

Visit their website for full details of the tours they offer, general and specialist suitable for all ages and varied interests. Many are led by a curator.  https://www.rmg.co.uk/maritime-collections-centre/specialist-tours-and-talks.

 In our tour we saw Queen Victoria’s beautiful enamel stove from the Royal Yacht, canons, a whaling pot, memorabilia produced to celebrate Nelson, paintings by local artists John Everett and Anne Christopherson, charts, flags, costumes and books.  What makes a visit special is learning the stories behind many of the huge number of objects housed on the site. Matthew Cahill, The Collections Learning Producer who led us round, has many tales to tell. The Pig for example forms part of their Titanic Tour.  This small model covered in real pigskin belonged to a high fashion designer Edith Rosenbaum. She was one of the “Women and Children First” and had a place in a lifeboat and the only object she could take with her was the pig. She and the other occupants of the lifeboat including many children had to wait for six hours in freezing conditions until the Carpathia rescued them. The delightful pig entertained … visit the Centre to learn how. We also saw the valuable and skilled work of the conservation teams in the art, textiles and paper departments. A mid shipman’s frock coat, 1748, was in the process of receiving attention and so far 200 hours have been spent repairing damage caused by moths.  The teams are very specialist, dedicated and very approachable. They kindly answered are many questions.

PPMCC also has space available for meetings, no hire charge.  They also welcome volunteers. I recommend you book a tour.