Sailors and Spooks! Autumn Family Fun at the Old Royal Naval College

Laura Wilkinson

25 September 2006

The Old Royal Naval College has a full programme of events and workshops suitable for families throughout October. From tales of Nelson’s Navy celebrating the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar to stories of ghostly sightings around the site for Halloween the Old Royal Naval College has events for all children.

Nelson’s Navy with the Historical Maritime Society
Saturday 7 October – Sunday 8 October 11:00 – 16:00
The Historical Maritime Society, a historical research and re-enactment group focussing on the Royal Navy, will be visiting the Old Royal Naval College to mark the 201st anniversary month of the Battle of Trafalgar. The Painted Hall is the exact spot where Admiral Lord Nelson lay-in-state following his death at the Battle of Trafalgar and it provides the perfect backdrop for learning about life in Nelson’s Navy from costumed interpreters with displays of instruments and tools from the period. There will also be canon fire and musket demonstrations in the grounds throughout the day and for the adults, glasses of port will be on sale to toast Britain’s greatest naval hero.
Suitable for all the family with free entry.

The Big Draw – Painted Hall of Fame!
Saturday 14 October 11:00 – 16:00
The Old Royal Naval College is joining in with the national campaign The Big Draw with a day of interactive sketching workshops and tours themed on the infamous characters featured throughout the site. Visitors will be able to create their own character portraits to be displayed in the ‘Painted Hall of Fame’.
The workshops and tours are both drop-in activities in the Painted Hall, tours will run on the hour. £1 per child, accompanying adults free.

Meet John Deman Character Performance and Tour for Black History Month
Saturday 21 October 12:00, 13:00, 15:00
The Old Royal Naval College, in collaboration with the National Maritime Museum, has developed a new character actor ‘John Deman’– a black Greenwich Pensioner – in association with Spectrum Drama and Theatre Projects. Recent research has uncovered that John Deman was born in the West Indies around 1774 and as a boy joined Nelson’s Navy travelling to England where he served on various ships in Nelson’s fleet. He was wounded before the Battle of Trafalgar and entered the Greenwich Hospital for Seaman as an injured sailor, spending the remainder of his years in Greenwich as a Pensioner.
To link with the national Black History Month campaign and for Trafalgar Day the National Maritime Museum and Old Royal Naval College are offering a free tour. It will start at the Museum in front of Andrew Morton’s painting The United Service which depicts Deman, and continue to the Painted Hall. Suitable for families, the audience will hear about life at sea and in Greenwich as a black Pensioner in the early nineteenth century.

The Ghostly College Tour & Dinner
Tuesday 31 October 19:00
What better night than Halloween for a lantern-lit tour of the Old Royal Naval College? Visitors will hear stories of strange paranormal happenings at the College including the Roman legionnaires seen trooping through the Undercroft and the vision of Admiral Byng who continues to haunt the site where he was incarcerated before execution! Following the tour a supper of bangers and mash will be served in the Painted Hall.
The Tour and Dinner is suitable for children aged 8+ (accompanied by adults) and costs £16.
For further information and to book call 020 8269 4799.

Visitor Information
Admission free, individual events priced as above
Opening times: grounds open daily 08:00 – 18:00, Mon-Sat: Painted Hall, Chapel & Visitor Centre 10:00 – 17:00, Sun: Painted Hall & Visitor Centre 10:00 – 17:00; Chapel 12:30 – 17:00
For more information please visit www.oldroyalnavalcollege.org
Pre-booked guided tours of the Nelson Room, Painted Hall & Visitor Centre: Adults £4, children (accompanied by an adult) free.
Group Tours and lunches also available. Please call 020 8269 4799 or email info@greenwichfoundation.org.uk for further information.

Notes to editors

Following the departure of the Royal Navy in 1998, the Greenwich Foundation signed a 150-year lease to manage the Old Royal Naval College. The Foundation, as a registered charity, conserves, restores and interprets the buildings and their grounds for the benefit of the nation. In 1999 the University of Greenwich became tenants on the site shortly followed by Trinity College of Music in 2001. The Foundation manages the Painted Hall and Chapel, the related undercrofts, Visitor Centre, the grounds and oversees the whole site.

Public access has been much increased and the Foundation, and its two principal on-site partners, present a wide range of public events and activities. These include open-air theatre and opera, activities for families and children, daily guided tours, concerts and exhibitions.

For more information and the history of the site from the 15th century to present day visit www.oldroyalnavalcollege.org.uk

Issued 11 September 2006

For further information or photographs please contact Laura Wilkinson, Marketing & Events Manager on 020 8269 4763 or email lwilkinson@greenwichfoundation.org.uk.