Photo Gallery
Associated Web Link: www.maryrose.org
Transcript Of Narration
We now move on to the Mary Rose Henry VIII war ship, which is also located within the historic dockyard. The Mary Rose is a 16th century warship and is the only ship of its type on display anywhere in the world. The Mary Rose was built between 1509 and 1511 and was one of the first ships capable of firing a broadside and is believed to be one of King Henry VIII s favourite ships. The Mary Rose served her country for many years until 19th July 1545 when she sank off of Southsea Castle.
In July 1545 the French fleet entered the Solent with the intention of invading the Isle Of Wight and destroying the English fleet. The French fleet consisted of 200 sail including 23 galleys compared to the English fleet of 80 ships, which gathered in Portsmouth with more expected from the West Country.
Sir Peter Carew, who was the brother of the Vice Admiral on the Mary Rose, said that the Mary Rose began to heel as soon as the sails were raised. The Mary Rose website says that there have been a number of attempts to explain the loss of the Mary Rose, none of them entirely satisfactory. Some people have attributed the ships loss to the gun ports being too close to the water line. But whatever the reason she sank.
In 1967 the Mary Rose committee was formed and they then sought proof that an anomaly on the sea bed was indeed the Mary Rose. In the winter of 1968 they confirmed the existence of something solid under the silt. On 5th May 1971 Percy Ackland discovered three of the port frames of the Mary Rose and in 1979 the Mary Rose Trust was formed with His Royal Highness Prince Charles as its president.
The remains of the Mary Rose s hull was raised to the surface on 11th October 1982 and towed into Portsmouth Harbour. She was moved into dry-dock no 3 on 8th December 1982. Work then started on constructing a ship hall for the ship. Conservation work on the Mary Rose continues to this day.
The Mary Rose ship hall is open to the public along with a museum depicting the raising of the Mary Rose and also many of the recovered artefacts from the ship. The Mary Rose was 32m in length and was rated 700 tons in 1512.
The Mary Rose Trust got given the go ahead for a brand new ship hall and museum in 2009 which has now been completed.. For more information about the Mary Rose and the project involved with recovering the Mary Rose have a look at www.maryrose.org.
