The Matthew of Bristol celebrates 25 Years!
The Matthew 525 aniversary logo designed by students at City of Bristol College
2022 is a special year for The Matthew.
May 2022 marks the 525th anniversary of the departure of the original Matthew from the Town and County of Bristol on 2nd May 1497, and the 25th anniversary of the departure of the replica Matthew from the City and County of Bristol in 1997, exactly 500 years later.
We have a new Website…
You may have noticed a few changes around here… we’re kicking off our anniversary year in style with a brand new website design!
Visit us at matthew.co.uk for the latest trip dates and tickets, and all the information you’ll need about hiring the ship for your own celebrations or taking your class on a school trip on board The Matthew.
Plus, we have resources, activities and guides so you can learn all about the original Matthew and the modern Matthew. You’ll also find details about how you can help to support and maintain The Matthew for future generations to enjoy for another 25 years!
May Bank Holiday Weekend Festivities!
The Matthew of Bristol Trust has a weekend of anniversary celebrations planned for the early May bank holiday.
Our trustees and volunteers have been working very hard behind the scenes to bring you a taste of Tudor Bristol with music, activities and special guests on Saturday 30 April and Sunday 1 May. It will be free of charge to visit and have a look around, so do come on down and see what we’re up to.
We’ll also be running trips around the harbour in the mornings – you can book your tickets in advance right here...
More For 2022…
Boat trips on The Matthew
We know you've been waiting patiently for our new trip dates to be announced, so we're pleased to let you know we've now confirmed our first batch of dates for 2022. Tickets are on sale now!
Do keep an eye on our Trips Timetable page for all the dates and links to online booking or sign up to our newsletter to get our news and trip information delivered direct to your inbox.
The Matthew at Bristol Harbour Festival
We’re also excited to be doing something a bit different for the return of the Bristol Harbour Festival, taking place over the weekend of July 15th–17th this summer. The Harbour Festival is also celebrating an anniversary this year, bringing Bristol’s residents the 50th edition of the festival.
We’ll be partnering up with Re:Verse Theatre for their production of The Hamlet Voyage, a new play about the first recorded performance of Hamlet, which was acted by sailors in 1607 off the coast of Sierra Leone for local West African dignitaries, on the first English voyage to reach India.
The Matthew is honoured to be hosting the opening performances of the play before it transfers to replica of The Golden Hinde in London later in the year.
THE MATTHEW 525 PROJECT
As well as maintaining the ship for trips and visitors, one of the objectives of The Matthew is education. To this end, we have partnered up with Myers-Insole Local Learning, Clive Burlton from Bristol Books CIC and students from City of Bristol College for the Matthew 525 Project, developing a cross-curricular learning resource exploring stories associated with both the modern Matthew and Cabot’s exploration to be used in schools across the city and on board the ship to share with our visitors.
More on this exciting project will be coming soon…
