Lottery awards £5m for maritime museum wing

The National Maritime Museum was today awarded £5 million for a major new wing which will allow it to display more from its archive of British naval history.

The money from the Heritage Lottery Fund will transform the Greenwich institution with galleries, digital resources and a new entrance.

It comes after the £20 million donation from Israeli shipping magnate Sammy Ofer and means the museum is now 90 per cent of the way towards securing the £35 million cost of the wing. Work will start next year and is due to finish in 2012.

The centrepiece of the wing will be an exhibition space where the museum can better present its collection of historic documents including a luncheon menu salvaged from the Titanic.