The Prize
Welcome to the Crowdfunder appeal for The Sutton Hoo Ship’s Company. We are a small charity raising funds to reconstruct the iconic Sutton Hoo Ship, which was found buried in a mound at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk in 1939.
As we approach Christmas and the Winter Solstice, we are running a prize draw for an amazing opportunity to immerse yourself in the history of the Sutton Hoo burial and the reconstruction of the ship here in East Anglia. The project is well underway, so there is plenty to see and do behind the scenes. If you are not in the UK, we are happy to organise an online alternative.
The VIP prize is for two people to come to Woodbridge, where we will create a special day that includes working alongside and having lunch with our shipbuilders, finding out more about the traditional tools and processes that we have re-learned to reconstruct the ship.
The prize also includes a grand tour of the National Trust Site at Sutton Hoo with Helen Geake and Joe Startin. Helen is one of our Trustees and is also regularly seen on Time Team productions. Joe Startin is also a Ship’s Company Trustee and has volunteered as an official guide at the National Trust Centre for many years. He is very knowledgeable about the burial mounds and the treasures found within.
Whether you love history, archaeology, woodworking, or shipbuilding skills—or if you just want to be part of this historical project—we will tailor the day just for you and will ensure you go away completely enthralled by the history we are making here in Suffolk.
This unique opportunity usually has a £5,000 price tag, but you can purchase a draw ticket for just £10. We will hold the draw on the 10th of December and notify the lucky winner by email. You can either claim the prize yourself or gift it to another lucky couple.
The ship is now half-planked, so we need to raise enough funds to ensure that we can keep production going and secure the final trees needed for the hull. Your donations will be spent directly on timber purchase, felling, and transportation costs so that we can start to cleave the next tree and convert it into the final planking as soon as possible.
Rest assured that this year, we have taken steps to plant our own woodland area to replace all of the trees we are using at a 20:1 ratio. Thanks to the hard work of volunteers, we have nurtured and planted 400 oak trees in an area now called the Saxon Ship Wood. Depending on how you choose to design your day, we can also take you to see the woodland area, and if you are lucky, we may be able to coincide your visit with a day when we are actually cleaving a tree, as it is a spectacular thing to watch.
Thank you for taking part in our Crowdfunder draw, and please share this opportunity with any friends and family who may also wish to support us.