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The Mary Rose

The Mary Rose.

A little getaway on the south coast at East Wittering for a few days and a trip to see the Mary Rose.

The Mary Rose was the flagship of Henry VIII and after serving in the Tudor Navy she was sunk in the Solent in July 1545 defending England from a French invasion fleet. The wreck was discovered in 1971 and raised in a complex and expensive feat of maritime archeology in 1982.

I’ve visited the Mary Rose exhibition in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard a few years back when they were still spraying the timbers to conserve them but then you couldn’t really see much while the conservation efforts were still ongoing. Now though what remains is on display in all its glory.

The exhibition is fabulous and the ships contents discovered amongst the timbers are just as impressive. It’s an incredible time capsule from the mid 16th Century. A time capsule containing Naval supplies, weapons and personal items belonging to the crew. It has also been possible to match the crew remains to the function they performed onboard in some cases.

There are several theories as to why she sank. The most popular and probably most likely is that she made too hard a turn after firing a broadside at the French. This combined with a gust of wind and open gun ports enabled the ship to become flooded and rapidly sink.

Some of the items on display…

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There is plenty to see at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in addition to the Mary Rose. Also located there are H.M.S. Victory, H.M.S. Warrior as well as The Royal Navy Submarine Museum so you won’t be left wanting on a day out.

 

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