UK Trip Blog #35: The Amazing Mary Rose Museum

Tom poses next to a great likeness of Henry VIII

On Sunday, June 23, we made our second attempt to go to the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth. This time we had a better plan and knew where we were going. So, we skipped breakfast at the B&B and grabbed tea and a pastry to go from downtown Windsor. We found fortune when we went into a little bakery, because while talking with the shop owner, she let us use her cell phone to check museum opening times.    It took about one hour to drive there and we parked in the same garage that we did the day before.

THE MARY ROSE MUSEUM!  - The Mary Rose is a Tudor ship, built in 1510. In service for 34 years. Sank in 1545. Discovered in 1971. Raised in 1982. Now in the final stages of conservation, she takes her place in a stunning and unique museum.
 
HOW DID THE SHIP GET ITS NAME? The Mary Rose was named for Henry VIII's daughter Mary and the tudor family rose (which was the symbol for the family). The Tudor Rose was carved into a lot of furniture and fireplaces owned by the Tudor family.

One of the ship's massive, heavy cannons

HOW DID THE MARY ROSE SINK? - In July 1535in Portsmouth harbor, wind caught the sails and pulled the large cannon filled ship on it's side. Because the side panels of the ship were open, the boat filled with water and sank on it's side. Only 35 of 500 men (and a dog) survived.

HOW DID HALF OF THE SHIP GET PRESERVED? -  One side of the boat, containing artifacts, cannons, and skeletons of the drowned crew  was lodged in the sandy bottom of the harbor. The sand and mud covered half of the ship while the other half broke off and disintegrated over the last 600 years. In 1971, it was discovered, and in 1982 it was uncovered and brought to the surface.
   Forensic scientists and archeologists spent the last 29 years cleaning the half of the ship and the artifacts. They sprayed the ship's wood with wax to make it harden and preserve the shape of the wood. Now, the wax is drying out in the wooden half of the ship that remains, and the ship is in the center of the museum under climate control. The museum circles around the ship and windows allow visitors to peer through to see the half of the ship that was salvaged. You can actually see the four decks of the ship, which was uprighted.

WE FOUND THIS VIDEO ON YOU TUBE THAT EXPLAINS THE RESTORATION OF THE SHIP




RIGHT: A view through one of the windows of the museum shows the ship being dried out in the middle of the museum. The museum surrounds the ship.

A better view of the ship's decks with air tubes drying out the wood

LEFT: Several cannons and cannonballs from the side of the ship that was buried in the sand.




NEXT: HATCH THE DOG, FACE BUILDING, MORE