A CAMPAIGN has been launched to build Scotland's oldest existing ship a permanent home in Dundee.
HMS Unicorn has been berthed in the city since 1873 but is now structurally at risk and campaigners are now looking to raise more than £1 million to preserve its long-term future.
The Unicorn, which is now a museum ship, is one of the six oldest surviving ships in the world having been launched on March 30, 1824, and is the oldest still afloat in Scotland.
A frigate of the Leda class, the ship was built after the end of the Napoleonic wars and so was never rigged with sails.
Instead of going to sea it was used as a floating storage ship on the River Thames for 50 years before being towed to Dundee for use as a training ship for the Royal Naval Reserve, a role it held until 1968.
The new money would be spent on building the ship a stable, elevated cradle.
HMS Unicorn has secured almost £2m in public funding since 2023 as well as substantial private donations.
The Unicorn Preservation Society, which owns the ship and runs the museum, hopes the 'Lead the Lift' campaign will help secure the physical survival of the ship and fund work to make it an inclusive and accessible space for the community.
Dr Andrew Tibbs, chief executive of the Unicorn Preservation Society, said: "HMS Unicorn is an internationally important treasure.
"Lead the Lift is about much more than preservation – it is about securing her survival, transforming her dockside home, and creating new opportunities for education, skills, and community connection.
"We are inviting individuals, businesses, and partners to join us in this once-in-a-generation project."
In January, HMS Unicorn received a £796,000 grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NHMF) toward the cost of moving it to a new dry dock.
In July 2023, the NHMF donated £1.11m towards Unicorn's continued restoration and preservation.
At the time, the society said the money provided 95.69% of the total financial investment needed for immediate conservation repairs to the ship, which includes replacing rotten hull timbers.
Previously, the Headley Trust gave a £100k grant and the American entrepreneur John Paul DeJoria gave £20k to help with the restoration work.
