HMS Warrior awarded £2.6 million by the Heritage Lottery Fund

The funding has been announced as part of a wider £3.6 million project to ensure that HMS Warrior 1860 remains watertight and to improve the visitor experience at the ship which is a floating museum at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard visited by 260,000 people each year.

Launched in 1860, HMS Warrior was the pride of Queen Victoria's Black Battle fleet which was made up of 45 iron-hulls built for the Royal Navy between 1861 and 1877.

It was the largest, fastest and most powerful ship of its day but by 1924 it had become obsolete and was sold to be converted into an oil pontoon before being rescued and renovated in the 1980s as the last survivor of the Black Battlefleet.

Carole Souter, chief executive of HLF, said: ''When she was built, HMS Warrior was at the forefront of marine technology, a symbol of the UK's immense naval prowess.

This Lottery grant will ensure she is safeguarded for future generations to explore and will give today's visitors the opportunity to better understand her role in our rich naval heritage.''

Commander Tim Ash, captain and chief executive of HMS Warrior 1860, said: ''The Warrior Preservation Trust is delighted with this successful bid. Not only will the funding allow the ship's essential preservation to get under way, but also the opportunity to introduce more for the visitor to see and learn about HMS Warrior's extraordinary history''

Rear Admiral Neil Latham CBE, chairman of the Warrior Preservation Trust, said: ''Once complete, Warrior will provide a dynamic visitor experience, excellent community engagement and research opportunities whilst securing the future of this remarkable ship for future generations.''

The preservation works, expected to take two years, will include repairs to the bulwarks and water bar between the deck and the iron hull which are deteriorating putting the ship ''at significant risk''.

A fundraising project is now being launched to raise the remaining £1 million for the works.