Cutty Sark, Clipper museum ship in Greenwich, London, United Kingdom
The Cutty Sark is a restored sailing vessel in Greenwich, raised on a glass structure that exposes the copper-clad hull from below. The deck runs from bow to stern, with masts, rigging, and cargo holds visible throughout the interior spaces where tea and wool were once stored.
Built at Dumbarton for John Willis, Cutty Sark was launched on 25 November 1869 and carried tea from China until steamships took over the route after the Suez Canal opened. From 1885 Captain Richard Woodget sailed her on wool runs from Australia, setting records. Sold to Ferreira & Co. in 1895, she was bought in 1922 by Captain Wilfred Dowman, who restored her as a training ship at Falmouth.
Families and school groups gather beneath the hull to learn about sailors' daily routines and life on board during voyages. Visitors walk the decks and climb ladders where crew members once worked, experiencing how mariners navigated and managed cargo over weeks at sea.
Tours and educational sessions take place across multiple levels, including the space beneath the raised hull. Wheelchair users can reach certain areas via ramps, though other sections require stairs and narrow passages through the deck.
The hull is sheathed in Muntz metal, a brass alloy, over an iron frame with wooden planking — a composite build shared by only two other intact 19th-century ships. The dry dock's glass canopy lets visitors look up at this sheathing from below.
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