What's New
Welcome to the National Historic Ships website
The National Register of Historic Vessels is a database containing information about surviving historic vessels in the United Kingdom. There are currently over 1,200 vessels listed in the database
We need your help
A small number of vessels on the Register have information which has not been updated for some time. Please contact us if you have any information about these vessels.
National Historic Ships is a Non Departmental Public Body advising the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on national historic ship preservation and funding priorities. It also advises the Heritage Lottery Fund and other public funding bodies on preservation priorities and individual applications. It also acts as a focus for advice on aspects of the preservation of historic vessels and maintains the National Register of Historic Vessels.
More about National Historic Ships
The 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade
Next year marks 200 years since the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire, which led to the abolition of slavery itself in the Empire in 1833. Of course this trade depended on ships, and the British Navy was also instrumental in bringing the trade to an end. So the story is close to many aspects of maritime history as expressed through historic vessels. More…