New £15m Royal Marines Museum opens in Portsmouth Dockyard

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 23 Oct, 06:38 · Archive

A new £15m museum charting 360 years of Royal Marines history has opened in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

A new £15m museum charting more than 360 years of Royal Marines history has opened in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. The Royal Marines Experience replaces the Royal Marines Museum, which closed at Eastney Barracks in 2017 after the building suffered irreversible deterioration. The new museum occupies a Grade II-listed building from the 1840s and was originally scheduled to open in 2019.

The exhibition features artefacts including all ten Victoria Crosses awarded to the Royal Marines, as well as a Remembrance room allowing families to reflect on those who died in service. The displays combine storytelling with hands-on activities, multimedia displays and immersive technology. Matthew Sheldon, chief executive of Royal Navy Museums, described the new museum as 'the breathing heart of the Royal Marines community'.

The project's costs rose from an initial £10m estimate to approximately £15m. In May 2025, it was awarded £4.4m of lottery funding following an earlier £13m lottery bid that was refused. The previous museum at Eastney received about 35,000 visitors annually. Located within Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, which attracts 600,000 visitors a year, the new museum is expected to reach significantly more people.

How it is being reported

• New £15m museum charts history of Royal MarinesThe new exhibition in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard features artefacts and immersive displays.BBC Hampshire · 23 Oct, 05:58
• Sneak peek at new 'cutting-edge' Royal Marines Museum as excitement builds ahead of Portsmouth openingMillions of pounds has been poured into the project to showcase the rich 360 year history of the Royal MarinesThe News, Portsmouth · 22 Oct, 00:05

In this story: Royal Marines · Portsmouth · Portsmouth Historic Dockyard · Eastney Barracks · Matthew Sheldon · Royal Navy Museums

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