A new museum that gives a boss "goosebumps" is set to boost revenue and visitors at Chatham Historic Dockyard.

No 1 Smithery, a joint venture between Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, the National Maritime Museum and the Imperial War Museum, houses some 4,000 ship models and marine paintings that have been hidden away for years.

The new museum opens to the public on Saturday, followed by an official VIP opening ceremony later in the year.

Restoration of the workshop that forged anchors and other metal parts for naval ships from 1808 to the mid 1970s cost more than £13m. The money has brought back to life a crumbling listed building that faced demolition and recalls the lives of craftsmen who worked in unhealthy conditions but played a vital role in the achievements of the Royal Navy. Recruits were tempted into the hot and sweaty factory by eight pints of beer a day.

Diane Lees, director general of the Imperial War Museum, said Chatham Dockyard was an amazing site.

"It's one of those perfect partnerships that are like an emerald necklace - all the bits joined up to create something beautiful," she said. "I absolutely love it. We are standing in a place where the things we are talking about, the things we are looking at were actually made. That connection gives me goosebumps, it's so powerful."

The new museum has a gallery to accommodate touring exhibitions, with the first being eight brilliantly-restored paintings of Shipbuilding on the Clyde during the Second World War by acclaimed artist Stanley Spencer.

Bill Ferris, the Trust's chief executive, hopes the new attraction will boost visitor numbers from 170,000 to more than 200,000 and aid local regeneration. But the shiny new museum was not the only reason to visit what he called one of the best maritime heritage sites in the world. It was just "one act in a nine act play. We're incredibly proud of it but the rest is equally is good. What we need to do is use this as a catalyst to bring people here."