Three joinery apprentices are undertaking a 'once in a lifetime' project that will see them work on a full-size replica of the famous Sutton Hoo longship.
The trio are part of a two-week placement with the Sutton Hoo Ship's Company, a Suffolk-based charity spearheading the £1.5m recreation of the Great Ship Burial, unearthed in 1939 by a team of archeologists including Basil Brown.
The Hamish Ogston Heritage Craft Apprenticeship Programme will see the apprentices learn about the materials and building methods used by the Anglo-Saxon ship builders, helped by volunteers and specialists.
The programme, which launched in September 2022, is backed by a £6.2 million grant from the Hamish Ogston Foundation and aims to redress the decline in heritage building skills by providing young people.
Rowan Kitt, one of three National Trust apprentices working on the replica, said: "I grew up in Cornwall with a lot of National Trust places around me. Being able to pay back into and keep [those skills] alive is a big interest."
Fellow apprentice Joshua Bobbett described the two-week placement as a “once in a lifetime" opportunity.
He said: “We’re learning traditional craft skills which will set us up for a lifetime of satisfying work. I’ve never done anything like this before.
“Seeing the logs come in and very gently get cloven down into workable timber is quite something. Learning traditional skills from traditional craftspeople, whether they’re joiners or engineers, [means] you’re picking something up and applying it to your own trade."
The team is currently fixing over one hundred hand-split and crafted oak planks to the keel of the ship which has been designed and constructed by an experienced team of volunteer shipbuilders.
Jacq Barnard, project manager, said: "We are building the ship to learn how our ancestors would have built it and then to find out what it is capable of, once on the water.
"So far the ship has been funded by generous donations, including members of the public who have sponsored our ‘Fund a Fixing’ campaign."
Robert Bargery, Heritage Project Director for the Hamish Ogston Foundation says: "This two-week placement is an incredible and rare opportunity. We are very pleased to fund their training which is allowing them to perfect their skills while recreating a unique archaeological find."
The completed boat is expected to be ready to launch in 2025, when sea trials will begin.
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