National Maritime Museum Act 1934

1934 CHAPTER 43 24 and 25 Geo 5

An Act to make provision for the establishment of a National Maritime Museum and for the addition of certain lands to Greenwich Park, and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.

[25th July 1934]

Commencement Information

I1 Act wholly in force at Royal Assent.

1 Establishment of National Maritime Museum and addition to Greenwich Park. U.K.

(1) There shall be established a National Maritime Museum (in this Act referred to as “the Museum”) . . . F1

(2)–(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F2

Textual Amendments

F1 Words repealed by National Maritime Museum Act 1989 (c.8, SIF 78), s. 3(2)

F2 S. 1(2)–(5) repealed by National Maritime Museum Act 1989 (c.8, SIF 78), s. 3(2)

2 Establishment of Board of trustees and duties of the Board. U.K.

(1) For the purpose of managing the Museum there shall be established a Board of trustees (in this Act referred to as “the Board”) who shall be a body corporate by the name of the Trustees of the National Maritime Museum with perpetual succession and a common seal.

(2) The Board shall be constituted and their proceedings shall be determined in accordance with the provisions contained in the Second Schedule to this Act.

(3) The Board shall have the general management and control of the Museum and for that purpose may—

(a) make such regulations as they think necessary for securing the due administration of the Museum and preserving the objects collected therein, including regulations requiring payment to be made for admission to the Museum;

(b) exchange, sell or otherwise dispose of any duplicate objects vested in them for the purposes of the Museum, and with the consent of the [F3 Lord President of the Council] exchange, sell or otherwise dispose of any objects so vested which the Board consider to be not required for the purposes of the Museum;

(c) with any moneys which, in accordance with the provisions of this Act, are available for the purpose, purchase any object which in the opinion of the Board it is desirable to acquire for the Museum;

(d) on such terms and subject to such conditions as the Board think fit lend any objects vested in them for the purposes of the Museum to any gallery, museum or exhibition approved for the purposes of this provision by the [F3 Lord President of the Council];

(e) subject to the consent of the [F3 Lord President of the Council] transfer or lend to any Government Department or to the trustees or other persons having the management of any gallery, museum or other institution in Great Britain which is in receipt of moneys provided by Parliament, any objects vested in the Board for the purposes of the Museum which, in the opinion of the Board, would more properly be under the control or management of that Department or of those trustees or other persons, as the case may be;

(f) subject to the provisions of this Act, do such other things as appear to them necessary or expedient for furthering the interests and increasing the utility of the Museum:

Provided that the powers conferred by this section of selling or otherwise disposing of, or lending or transferring, any object, shall not be exercised in any manner inconsistent with any condition attached to any gift or bequest by virtue or in consequence of which that object was vested in the Board for the purposes of the Museum.

Textual Amendments

F3 Words substituted by virtue of S.I. 1979/907, arts. 2(1), 11(3), Sch. Pt. I; 1981/207, arts. 2(1), 5, Sch. 1 Pt. I; 1983/879, arts. 2(1), 11, Sch. 1 Pt. I; 1984/1814, arts. 2(1), 7, Sch. 1 Pt. I and 1986/600, arts. 2(1), 7, Sch. 1 Pt. I

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 Functions of the Lord President of the Council under s. 2 transferred (3.7.1992) to the Secretary of State by virtue of S.I. 1992/1311, art. 3(1), Sch. 1 Pt.I

3 Vesting in the Board of objects given to, acquired for, or transferred to Museum. U.K.

All objects—

(a) which at the time of the constitution of the Board form part of the Naval Museum of the Royal Naval College at Greenwich;

(b) which immediately before the constitution of the Board are vested by virtue of the deeds referred to in the first column of the Third Schedule to this Act in all or any of the trustees named in the second column of that Schedule;

(c) which are expressly given or bequeathed to the public or to the nation or to the Board for the purposes of the Museum;

(d) which are given or bequeathed by words showing an intention that the gifts should inure to, or for the benefit of the Museum;

(e) which are acquired by purchase or otherwise for the purposes of the Museum;

shall vest in the Board and be held by the Board for the purposes of the Museum.

4 Power of other institutions to transfer or lend objects to the Museum. U.K.

If it appears to any Government Department or to the trustees or other persons having the management of any gallery, museum or other institution in Great Britain which is in receipt of moneys provided by Parliament, that any objects under the control or management of the Department or of the trustees or other persons respectively would more properly form part of the collection in the Museum, the Department, trustees or other persons, as the case may be, may, with the consent of the [F4 Lord President of the Council], either transfer those objects to the Museum or lend them to the Board on such terms and subject to such conditions as may be agreed between the Department, trustees or other persons and the Board:

Provided that the powers conferred by this section shall not be exercised in any manner inconsistent with any condition attached to any gift or bequest by virtue of which any object was placed under the control or management of the Department, trustees or other persons in question.

Textual Amendments

F4 Words substituted by virtue of S.I. 1979/907, arts. 2(1), 11(3), Sch. Pt. I; 1981/207, arts. 2(1), 5, Sch. 1 Pt. I; 1983/879, arts. 2(1), 11, Sch. 1 Pt. I; 1984/1814, arts. 2(1), 7, Sch. 1 Pt. I and 1986/600, arts. 2(1), 7, Sch. 1 Pt. I

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C2 Functions of the Lord President of the Council under s. 4 transferred (3.7.1992) to the Secretary of State by virtue of S.I. 1992/1311, art. 3(1), Sch. 1 Pt.I

5 Staff. U.K.

(1) There shall be a Director of the Museum who shall be appointed [F5 by the Board with the approval of the Prime Minister] and shall hold office on such terms and subject to such conditions [F5 as the Board may determine subject to such conditions as the Lord President of the Council may impose with the consent of the Treasury], and shall, subject to the control and direction of the Board, be charged with the care of the Museum and of the objects collected there.

(2) The Board may, F6 . . ., appoint such officers and servants as the Board think fit; and there shall be paid to the Director of the Museum and to any officers so appointed such salaries or remuneration [F7 as the Board may determine subject to such conditions as the Lord President of the Council may impose with the consent of the Treasury].

Textual Amendments

F5 Words in s. 5(1) substituted (1.9.1992) by Museums and Galleries Act 1992 (c. 44), s. 11(2), Sch. 8 Pt. II para. 8(1)(5); S.I. 1992/1874, art.2

F6 Words in s. 5(2) repealed (1.9.1992) by Museums and Galleries Act 1992 (c. 44), s. 11(2)(3), Sch. 8 Pt. II para. 8(2)(a)(5), Sch. 9; S.I. 1992/1874, art.2

F7 Words in s. 5(2) substituted (1.9.1992) by Museums and Galleries Act 1992 (c. 44), s. 11(2), Sch. 8 Pt. II para. 8(2)(b)(5); S.I. 1992/1874, art.2

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C3 Functions of the Lord President of the Council under s. 5 transferred (3.7.1992) to the Secretary of State by virtue of S.I. 1992/1311, art. 3(1), Sch. 1 Pt.I

6 Financial provisions. U.K.

F8 (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(2) Any moneys received by the Board on the sale, exchange or disposal of any objects vested in them for the purposes of the Museum, and any moneys received by the Board by way of gift or bequest, [F9 may be invested by the Board], and may, together with any interest thereon, be expended by the Board, as and when they think fit, in the purchase of objects for the Museum, [F9 or otherwise] for the purposes of the Museum:

Provided that no moneys received by the Board by way of gift or bequest shall be expended by the Board in any manner inconsistent with any condition attached to the gift or bequest.

F8 (3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F8 (4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Textual Amendments

F8 S. 6(1)(3)(4) repealed (1.9.1992) by Museums and Galleries Act 1992 (c. 44), s. 11(2)(3), Sch. 8 Pt. II para. 8(3)(a)(5), Sch.9; S.I. 1992/1874, art.2

F9 Words in s. 6(2) substituted (1.9.1992) by Museums and Galleries Act 1992 (c. 44), s. 11(2), Sch. 8 Pt. II para. 8(3)(b)(5); S.I. 1992/1874, art.2

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C4 Functions of the Secretary of State under s. 6(2) transferred (3.7.1992) to the Secretary of State by virtue of S.I. 1992/1311, art. 3(1), Sch. 1 Pt.I

F10 7 Exemption of Museum from Charitable Trusts Acts. U.K.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Textual Amendments

F10 S. 7 repealed (1.8.1993) by 1993 c. 10, ss. 98(2), 99(1), Sch.7.

8 Short title. U.K.

This Act may be cited as the National Maritime Museum Act 1934.

SCHEDULES

Section 1.

FIRST SCHEDULE U.K. Lands to be vested in the Commissioners of Works and used for the purposes of the Museum

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C5 Functions of Commissioners of Works now exercisable by Secretary of State and property transferred to Secretary of State for the Environment: S.R. & O. 1945/991, (Rev. XV, p. 232: 1945 I, p. 1414), art. 1, S.I. 1962/1549 and 1970/1681, art. 2

All that land containing eleven and one half acres or thereabouts bounded as near as may be on the north by Romney Road on the west by land now in the occupation of The Seaman’s Hospital Society on the south by Greenwich Park and on the east by Park Row in the parish of Greenwich in the county of London together with all the buildings on the said land formerly occupied by the Royal Hospital School.

Section 2.

SECOND SCHEDULE U.K. Constitution and Proceedings of the Board

1 U.K. The Board shall consist of such persons as may be appointed by the [F11 Prime Minister], and every member of the Board shall hold office for such time as may be specified in his appointment.

Textual Amendments

F11 Words in Sch. 2 para. 1 substituted (1.9.1992) by Museums and Galleries Act 1992 (c. 44), s. 11(2), Sch. 8 Pt. II para. 8(4)(5); S.I. 1992/1874, art.2

2 U.K. Any person ceasing to be a member of the Board shall be eligible for reappointment.

3 U.K. If a member of the Board becomes, in the opinion of the [F12 Prime Minister], unfit to continue in office or incapable of performing his duties, the [F12 Prime Minister] shall forthwith declare his office to be vacant and shall notify the fact in such manner as the [F12 Prime Minister] thinks fit, and thereupon the office shall become vacant.

Textual Amendments

F12 Words in Sch. 2 para. 3 substituted (1.9.1992) by Museums and Galleries Act 1992 (c. 44), s. 11(2), Sch. 8 Pt. II para. 8(4)(5); S.I. 1992/1874, art.2

4 U.K. The powers of the Board may be exercised notwithstanding any vacancy in their number.

5 U.K. The Board may make rules for regulating the proceedings, including quorum, of the Board.

Section 3.

THIRD SCHEDULE U.K. Deeds Relating to Certain Objects Transferred from Trustees therein mentioned to the Board

Deeds	Trustees
Declaration of Trust dated the fourteenth day of October, nineteen hundred and twenty-seven, made in contemplation of the institution of a museum for the public exhibition of articles of naval or nautical interest.	The Right Hon. James Richard Earl Stanhope, D.S.O., M.C. Admiral Sir George Price Webley Hope, K.C.B., K.C.M.G. Sir Lionel Earle, K.C.B., K.C.V.O., C.M.G. Roger Charles Anderson, F.S.A. Geoffrey Arthur Romaine Callender, F.S.A.
Declaration of Trust dated the seventeenth day of August, nineteen hundred and twenty-eight, made in contemplation of the presentation of the collection known as the Macpherson Collection for retention in a museum for the public exhibition of articles of naval or nautical interest.	Sir James Caird, Bart. The Right Hon. James Richard Earl Stanhope, D.S.O., M.C. Admiral Sir George Price Webley Hope, K.C.B., K.C.M.G. Sir Lionel Earle, K.C.B., K.C.V.O., C.M.G. Roger Charles Anderson, F.S.A. Geoffrey Arthur Romaine Callender, F.S.A.
Agreement made the seventh day of July, nineteen hundred and thirty-one, between Roger Charles Anderson, F.S.A., and the trustees mentioned in the said agreement, with respect to the Anderson Collection described in the schedule to the said agreement.	The Right Hon. James Richard Earl Stanhope, D.S.O., M.C. Admiral Sir George Price Webley Hope, K.C.B., K.C.M.G. Sir Lionel Earle, K.C.B., K.C.V.O., C.M.G. Roger Charles Anderson, F.S.A. Geoffrey Arthur Romaine Callender, F.S.A. Sir James Caird, Bart.
Trust Deed made the twenty-eighth day of December, nineteen hundred and thirty-one, between John Durham Denis de Vitre, Clerk in Holy Orders, and the trustees mentioned in the said deed, with respect to the objects specified in the schedule to the said deed.	The Right Hon. James Richard Earl Stanhope, D.S.O., M.C. Admiral Sir George Price Webley Hope, K.C.B., K.C.M.G. Sir Lionel Earle, K.C.B., K.C.V.O., C.M.G. Roger Charles Anderson, F.S.A. Sir James Caird, Bart. Geoffrey Arthur Romaine Callender, F.S.A.