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Mary Rose
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Mary Rose
was a Tudor carrack built for
King Henry VIII as part of his plan to
build a larger permanent navy. She took part
in several wars with Scotland and France
over more than thirty years and underwent a
major rebuild in 1536. Mary Rose was reputed
to be the favorite ship of King Henry VIII,
who watched as she sank off Spithead while
leading an attack against the French fleet,
with Henry
Grace a Dieu, during the Battle of the
Solent. More than 400 years later, in 1971,
the wreck of Mary Rose was rediscovered.
Archaeological surveys and excavations
followed culminating in the wreck being
recovered from the seabed in 1982. Mary Rose
proved to be a time capsule with thousands
of historical artifacts, such as items owned
and used by the crew, weapons, supplies and
equipment, surviving within the ship. Mary
Rose was moved to Portsmouth Historic
Dockyard where she underwent conservation
for more than thirty years.
Why
was Mary Rose Built?
When Henry VIII became king in 1509, he
inherited only a small navy with a few
reasonable warships, including the carracks
Regent and Sovereign. During times of war it
was usual for merchant ships to be armed and
used to reinforce the navy, however with
constant threats from Scotland and France,
Henry VIII sought to have a larger permanent
navy. In 1510, he ordered two more ships,
the Peter Pomegranate and the slightly
larger Mary Rose. This is generally
recognized as being the beginning of
Britain’s Royal Navy.
Why
was the Ship Called Mary Rose?
It is widely believed that Mary Rose was
named after Henry VIII’s sister Mary Tudor
and the family emblem, the rose. However
with no evidence to support this belief it
is more likely that she was named after the
Virgin Mary who, at that time, was also
known as the Mystic Rose.
Where was Mary Rose Built?
Mary Rose was laid down in Portsmouth in
1510 and built in the style of a carrack.
She was principally constructed from oak and
was launched in July 1511. After launching,
Mary Rose was towed to London where her
decks were built and her masts and rigging
were fitted. She was also fitted with her
guns which included wrought iron breech
loading guns and cast bronze guns. Mary Rose
was completed in 1512.
How Big was Mary Rose?
There are no exact dimensions
for the size of Mary Rose, however
it is known that at the time of her
build she was approximately 500
tons. Estimated dimensions, based on
the wreck, put her keel at around
105 feet and her beam at around 39
feet. Mary Rose had three decks, a
forecastle and a stern castle. Each
of the castles would have had up to
three additional decks. She had four
masts and would have used up to ten
sails. After a major refit in 1536,
she was believed to have weighed
approximately 700 tons.
What Armament did Mary Rose
Carry?
At the time of her sinking, Mary
Rose is believed to have carried 91
guns of varying size. The heavy guns
would have included early wrought
iron cannons as well as later cast
bronze cannons. The majority of the
guns on Mary Rose were smaller, for
fighting at close quarters. These
would have included hailshot pieces
and bases. There would have been a
range of shot which would have been
used to penetrate hulls, destroy
rigging or injure the enemy.
Mary Rose Crew
The crew required aboard Mary Rose
would have varied according to her
duties. It is estimated that Mary
Rose would have carried a crew of
more than 400 in wartime, which
could have grown to around 700 when
she carried soldiers for raids. In
peacetime it is likely that her crew
would have numbered from 100 to 200.
The majority of the crews that
served aboard Mary Rose remain
unknown as very few records were
kept, however analysis of the bones
recovered from the wreck showed that
all the crew were male with the
majority being under the age of 30.
The bones of 179 people were
recovered in total. The only
recorded victim of the sinking of
Mary Rose was Vice- Admiral George
Carew.
Mary Rose in the First French War
Mary Rose first saw action in 1512
after being chosen as the flagship
of the Lord High Admiral Sir Edward
Howard. Howard led 18 ships,
including Mary Rose, on an expedition
against the French which led to the
capture of twelve Breton ships and a
four day raid on Brittany. After
returning to Southampton and being
visited by King Henry VIII, Mary
Rose and the fleet sailed to Brest
where, at the Battle of St. Mathieu,
they met with a French-Breton fleet.
The French ships were battered by
heavy gunfire and the Breton
flagship, Cordeliere was boarded by
the British before it caught fire
and sank. Following more raids, the
fleet was forced, by storms, to
return to England.
Mary Rose Takes Part in a Race
Mary Rose took part in a race
against other ships in the fleet at
some time in 1513, and was said to
have been one of the fastest ships
in the fleet. Mary Rose and the
fleet then set off for Brest once
again. Howard attacked the French
fleet, which had been reinforced by
ships from the Mediterranean, and
after boarding a French galley,
Howard was killed. Short of supplies
and disheartened by the loss of
their Admiral, Mary Rose and the fleet returned to
Plymouth.
Mary Rose Transports Soldiers
When the Scots joined France in
the war against England in August
1513, Mary Rose was among the ships
carrying soldiers to Newcastle.
These soldiers made their way to
Northumberland and took part
in the Battle of Flodden, where the
Scots were heavily defeated and
their King, James IV, was killed. Mary
Rose took part in several more
skirmishes with the French before
the war ended in the autumn of 1514.
Mary Rose in the Second French
War
In 1522 war broke out between
England and France once again. Mary
Rose carried soldiers across to
France in June 1522, before
returning to Dartmouth where she
berthed for the winter. The war
ended in 1525 with no further
participation from Mary Rose.
Mary Rose Placed in Ordinary and
Refitted
Mary Rose was placed in ordinary
(an English naval term for a ship
that is removed from service for
maintenance, repair or for storage)
from 1522 to 1545. She underwent
caulking and repairing in 1527, and
underwent a major refit on the River
Thames in 1536. There are no records
of the works carried out, but it’s
clear that additional bracing was
fitted to the interior, which
suggests that she would be carrying
extra weight. It is also believed
that additional gun ports were cut.
Mary Rose and the Third French
War
On July 16, 1545, a French feet of
128 ships, under the command of
Admiral Claude d’Annebault, entered
the Solent, and the British fleet of
80 ships, including Mary Rose,
withdrew into Portsmouth Harbor. The
first action between the two fleets
was a prolonged exchange of cannon
fire which caused little damage to
either side.
Mary Rose Presented as Flagship
On the evening of July
18, King Henry VIII dined with
Admiral Viscount Lisle and George
Carew on board Henry Grace a Dieu.
While having this meal, King Henry
VIII made George Carew Admiral of
the Fleet and presented him with
Mary Rose as his flagship.
The Sinking of Mary Rose
On July 19, 1545, with King Henry
VIII watching from nearby Southsea
Castle, Mary Rose and Henry Grace a
Dieu led the English Fleet into the
Solent to face the French. After
firing a broadside, Mary Rose was
turning when she leaned over to
starboard (the right) and sank with
the loss of around 400 men,
including the Admiral of the Fleet
George Carew.
Why Did Mary Rose Sink?
An eyewitness account of the
sinking stated that after firing all
the guns on one side, she was
turning and was hit by a strong gust
of wind. However, various theories
about the sinking have been put
forward over the years including:
a) Not being familiar with the
capabilities of Mary Rose, George
Carew may have given orders that put
Mary Rose in danger, or maybe the
orders were misunderstood or ignored
by the crew: b) Mary Rose was hit by a
sudden breeze as she turned causing
her to lean too far over allowing
water to pour in through the open
gun ports: c) A cannonball from a
French gun penetrated her hull below
the waterline causing her to become
unstable and sink: d) She was
overloaded with heavy guns and
soldiers. There are many questions
about the sinking of Mary Rose that
remain unanswered, leaving us with a
mystery that may never be solved.
Initial Attempt at Salvaging Mary
Rose
Within days of the sinking an
attempt was made to salvage Mary
Rose. King Henry VIII’s brother in
law, Charles Brandon, took charge of
the operation which was carried out
by Venetian salvage operators. The
method was to attach cables to the
wreck and to two empty ships. At low
tide capstans aboard the empty ships
would tighten the cables and when
the tide came in, the empty ships
would rise, bring the wreck with
them. The empty ships would tow the
wreck into shallower water and
repeat the process until the
complete wreck could be raised. All
initial attempts failed as Mary Rose
was firmly stuck in the clay on the
seabed. However some rigging and
cannons were salvaged during this
attempt.
The Deterioration of Mary Rose
Although the wreck of Mary Rose
was reported as still being visible
in the late 16th century, by one of
Queen Elizabeth
I’s Admirals, William
Monson, it would already have begun
to deteriorate as the sea life began
to attack it. A species of saltwater
clam, known as teredo navalis or
naval shipworm, would have bored
into the wood and started to break
down it’s structure while other
bacteria and fungi would also have
started to damage Mary Rose. Around
40% of Mary Rose became buried
by silt and clay, which protected
her while the exposed areas were
destroyed.
Rediscovery of Mary Rose in 1836
Mary Rose was rediscovered in
1836 after some fisherman snagged
their nets on her timbers. Diver
Henry Abinett was contacted to
remove the obstruction and became
the first person to see Mary Rose in
300 years when he saw her on June 10,
1836. They employed professional
divers John Deane, co-inventor of
the diving helmet, and William
Edwards who identified the wreck as
Mary Rose from one of the recovered
cannons. Various items were
recovered from the wreck including
iron cannons, bronze cannons,
timbers and longbows. There are many
surviving watercolor paintings and
pencil sketches of the items
recovered, however many of the items
have deteriorated as they couldn’t
be properly conserved.
The Bombing of Mary Rose
The diver John Deane returned to the
Mary Rose in 1840 and used bomb
shells to blast the wreck in an
effort to recover artifacts. The
explosions didn’t penetrate the hard
clay protecting the main part of the
wreck, however Deane described Mary
Rose as being clinker built, which
suggests that he had actually
entered the stern castle as this was
the only part of the ship that was
clinker built.
Rediscovery of Mary Rose in 1971
The search for Mary Rose was
restarted in 1965 by journalist,
military historian, author and diver
Alexander McKee, along with the
Southsea branch of the British
Sub-Aqua Club. Using the latest
sonar equipment to scan the seabed,
they found a strange shape which
McKee strongly suspected to be Mary
Rose. The divers explored the area
from 1968 and were rewarded
on May 5, 1971, when diver Percy Ackland discovered three port frames
of Mary Rose.
Formation of the Mary Rose Trust
With the help of archaeologists, excavations of Mary Rose,
between 1971 and 1978, revealed deck
beams and planking as well as other
artifacts. A trench was dug across
Mary Rose which revealed that two
decks had survived in place. This
led to the decision to excavate the
entire ship, which resulted in the
formation of the Mary Rose Trust in
1979 to oversee the project, with
HRH Prince Charles as it’s
President.
The Excavation of Mary Rose
With the excavation becoming a
professional project, the salvage
vessel Sleipner was brought in and
moored over the dive site. The
project was speeded up by this
addition which allowed divers and
finds staff to work in shifts. The
project also gained full time administrators, finds staff,
conservators, archaeologists and
fundraisers. The excavation was
carried out as in as near a way to
archaeological land excavations as possible with
grids dividing the site and full
surveying and recording of all
timbers and artifacts. All items
brought up from the wreck were
stored in a controlled environment
to help conservation.
The Raising of Mary Rose
After considering various methods of
raising Mary Rose, the decision was
taken to use a purpose built lifting
frame which would lift the wreck and
place it into a specially prepared
cradle. The cradle and frame would
then be lifted to the surface. The
lifting frame was attached to Mary
Rose using wires connected to steel
bolts that were passed through her
hull. Mary Rose was finally lifted
from the waters of the Solent on
October 11, 1982.
Mary Rose Conservation
Mary Rose was moved to a dry dock in
Portsmouth Historic Dockyard where
conservation began. The dry dock was
later covered and a hall built
around it. Visitors can view Mary
Rose from a gallery within the hall.
Initially the hull needed to be kept
saturated with water. This was later
replaced with the constant spraying
of polyethylene glycol
until 2013, when the sprays were
turned off and the process of air
drying began. Having taken thirty
five years, conservation is now
complete, and Mary Rose is enclosed
in a climatically controlled box.
Mary Rose Museum
The Mary Rose Museum, located in
Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, houses
not only Mary Rose herself, but also
the artifacts that were excavated
with her. These artifacts offer a
unique insight into Tudor life
aboard Mary Rose. More than 19,000
artifacts were recovered in total,
ranging from cannons and weapons to
clothes and other everyday objects,
many of which are on display.
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