A 200-YEAR-OLD chunk of naval history could be moving out of West Fife to a museum in England.

The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) has applied for listed building consent to remove the figurehead of Admiral Adam Duncan from MOD Caledonia in Rosyth to the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth.

The double life-sized painted timber figurehead once formed part of the prow of the 19th-century warship HMS Duncan, which was launched in 1811 and broken up in 1863.

The ship was named as a memorial to the admiral, who defeated the Dutch navy at the Battle of Camperdown in 1797.

The figurehead survived the decommissioning of HMS Duncan and has been at Rosyth since 1997.

The DIO now wants to transfer Admiral Duncan to arrest further deterioration, conserve it to professional standards and display it where the public can view it.

A supporting statement submitted with the application said the figurehead is of importance “as a rare three-dimensional representation of a Scottish naval hero”. It added, “Over the past two-three years, Defence Infrastructure Organisation has tried to secure the future of the figurehead by identifying organisations that are able to provide storage facilities; undertake the necessary conservation; and display it for the public benefit.

“MOD is unable to allocate resources to conserve the figurehead nor is it able to guarantee facilities which would ensure its long-term sustainable storage and display.

“As such, the transfer of the figurehead to a location which meets the priorities identified above is considered to be an appropriate and desirable method of securing this important maritime artefact.” The National Museum of the Royal Navy has expressed a “firm interest” in receiving Admiral Duncan, a move which would “make a heritage object accessible for the enjoyment and education of the public”.

Admiral Duncan is currently in temporary storage in the parade ground at MOD Caledonia, and while the container shelters it from wind and rain, it does not protect it from changes in humidity, temperature and dampness.

The statement concluded, “It is hoped to obtain the necessary consent and transfer the figurehead at the earliest opportunity to more suitable storage, thus removing the need for another winter in the current storage.”