The Cutty Sark rises from the flames - in pictures

A photograph of the Cutty Sark taken around 1890. The Cutty Sark was built in 1869 as a state-of-the-art merchant vessel and served on the tea run to China and the wool run to Australia Photograph: Rischgitz/Getty Images

A 1924 engraving after a painting by Jack Spurling shows the Cutty Sark during its years as a training ship, after being retired as a merchant vessel Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

In 1954 the Cutty Sark was moved to a custom-built dry dock at Greenwich. The captain on its last voyage was 83-year-old CE Irving, who had sailed the world three times in the ship before he was 17 Photograph: Ron Burton/Getty Images

As the Cutty Sark was moved to its dry dock, figureheads, paintings and models were collected for exhibition aboard the ship Photograph: Edward Miller/Getty Images

The Cutty Sark became a famous landmark in Greenwich. It usually flies flags reading 'JKWS' – the code representing Cutty Sark in the International Code of Signals of 1857 Photograph: Kos Picture Source/Getty Images

On 21 May 2007 the Cutty Sark caught fire and burned for several hours Photograph: Kos Picture Source/Getty Images

Much of the fabric of the ship had been removed for restoration before the fire, and remained undamaged Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Public and private donors gave £50m to meet the cost of restoring the Cutty Sark Photograph: Nils Jorgensen/Rex Features

Grimshaw Architects, best known for Cornwall's Eden Project, led the restoration Photograph: Nils Jorgensen/Rex Features

Their plan involved creating a glass-roofed museum beneath the ship, which is raised 3m in the air Photograph: Jim Stephenson

Critics complained that the ship should be displayed in water, but after many years in dry dock the Cutty Sark was too corroded to be seaworthy Photograph: Anthony Devlin/PA

The new museum is part of Grimshaw Architects' plan to make the ship economically sustainable – the space doubles as a venue for hire Photograph: Jim Stephenson

The ship's figurehead represents Cutty Sark, the nickname of the seductive witch Nannie Dee in Robert Burns's poem Tam o' Shanter. 'Cutty sark' means 'short shift' – the garment the witch is wearing Photograph: Paul Brown/Rex Features

The Cutty Sark is one of three surviving 'composite' ships. Its wrought-iron frame supports teak and rock elm planks, which were then covered below the waterline with bitumen, felt and metal plates Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Many traditional craftspeople worked on the restoration of the ship Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Specialist Emilia Hall worked on the whipping of the rigging on the restored ship Photograph: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images

The restoration has combined traditional crafts with modern additions such as a disabled lift and fire escapes Photograph: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images

The Cutty Sark 'was sort of the Concorde of its age' says architect Nicholas Grimshaw. 'It was an amazingly fast ship' Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images