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On
shore, researchers delved into the life and fittings of Victorian warships,
scouring museums, libraries and private collections for information.
The original ship's plans - works of art in their own right - were of inestimable value. The second major source of information was a 14-year-old midshipman's log book. He served on Warrior in 1862 and drew diagrams of each item on board. By 1982, the painstaking work was well under way on the upper and main deck, with the lengthy process of renewing the bulwarks also begun.Portsmouth was chosen as Warrior's final home, close to HMS Victory and the Mary Rose. The new Warrior Preservation Trust took over ownership and controlled the restoration. Work on Warrior's vast decks began with repairs to her damaged bow and replacement of the original beak, rescued by divers. A demolished Bradford warehouse was the unlikely source of 20,000 square feet of pine planking laid on her decks.  By 1983 the task of laying the planking of the upper deck was almost completed, and work was underway to remove old paint and rust from the areas below decks, some areas were found to consist of 120 different coats of paint. Once removed the areas were cleaned, a preservative applied and re-painted. Throughout this period work on creating the many thousand items needed to complete the ship was underway. 1984 saw work progressing steadily with the installation of main and mizzen masts, the largest section of which was 120 feet long and weighed over 30 tons. Work was also progressing in Portsmouth, where preparations for Warrior's arrival were well under way. It would not be until March of 1985 that work was started on the Warrior Jetty.
On June 16th 1987, 58 years after she left Portsmouth in a terrible state, Warrior made her triumphant return. A flotilla of small boats greeted her, guns fired, klaxons sounded, crowds cheered, fireworks exploded, and balloons filled the air as she inched her way to her berth in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. 
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 A harsh winter had ruined the original figurehead on display at HMS Warrior, the Fleet Headquarters at Northwood Middlesex. A replica was made using original sketches and photographs and put on display at 1983's International Boat Show. The 12 feet high, three ton model stirred public interest. Donations poured in and many relations of former Warrior crew wrote in with original artefacts and invaluable information. The restoration even inspired a musician to compose a celebration march! In order to accurately replicate the ship's ordnance it was necessary to locate examples of the 68pdr and 110pdr guns. The Museum of Artillery was found to house a 68pdr, and a 110pdr gun was located at Fort Regent, Jersey. Fibreglass replicas were manufactured at Hartlepool, which entailed transporting both originals to Warrior for moulds to be manufactured. 
1985 saw work begin on replication of the ship's engine, which had been removed when Warrior was hulked in 1898. By the end of the year the Boiler rooms, engine valves and condenser were in place. By the end of the year, and over 100 years since the ship had put to sea under her own power, HMS Warrior was now moving from hulk status to a real ship once more. The magnificent battleship was reborn, lovingly restored by a 140 strong workforce and completed in 1987. She was pristine in all respects, even down to small artefacts like bowls and hammocks. There were mixed emotions in Hartlepool as the town bid farewell to the ship that had spent seven years in its care.
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Departing Hartlepool after 8 years of restoration