"The museum is very, very different" Delight as the Gosport Diving Museum reopens after a major revamp

Gosport’s Diving Museum has reopened after a major redevelopment which has seen its home completely transformed.

The museum at No. 2, Battery, in Stokes Bay Road has been closed since 2024 to allow for the revamp which has seen repairs being carried out to the battery to make it more accessible. This has also resulted in a major improvements to what the now larger museum has to offer.

New areas of the building are now usable, with works carried out in parts which were previously too wet and damp for visitors to enter.

Museum manager Wendy Redman said: “The museum is not only telling the story of diving but it is telling the story of the building itself and also the area of Stokes Bay.

“The building has been totally redeveloped to make it much drier, with better conditions for the collection to be looked after, but also so that visitors can enter the building without getting their feet wet.”

The museum explores the history of diving, the conditions for divers and how they are able to work in military, search and commercial settings.

It also currently has on display the 1820s smoke/diving copper helmet designed by the Deane brothers which is considered the launchpad for the global diving industry. The brothers famously salvaged artifacts from the wreck of the the Mary Rose in 1836 in the Solent.

Wendy explained: “We are very fortunate to have on loan from the Science Museum the Deane helmet. John and Charles helped to put Gosport on the map for diving history. They created the first successful open diving helmet supplied with compressed air, which helped them to rediscover the wreck of the Mary Rose.”

The works at No. 2 Battery were carried out thanks to funding by The Arts Council England, Historic England, Gosport Borough Council, Hampshire County Council and The Heritage Fund, and the museum hopes the result will be enjoyed by the whole community.

Wendy said: “The museum is very, very different to how it was in the past. There is something for everybody. We have lots of hand on and interactives for younger people. There is also a lot for those interested in diving, and those not interested in diving to just come along and explore the building, find out a little bit more and be inspired.”

The Diving Museum is open every Friday to Sunday from 11am-4pm. For more information visit www.divingmuseum.co.uk