Mary Rose

The Mary Rose was a carrack of 78 guns (91 guns after 1536), built in Portsmouth, England, in 1509–1510, thought to be named after King Henry VIII's sister Mary and the rose, the Tudor emblem. She was one of the earliest purpose-built warships to serve in the English navy: it is thought that she never served as a merchant ship. She displaced 500 tons (700 tons after 1536), was 38.5 m long and 11.7 m abeam and her crew consisted of 200 sailors, 185 soldiers, and 30 gunners.

Wreck

An attempt was made to raise her in August 1545 — even if she could not be refloated, her timbers and guns were immensely valuable — but with no success.

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On 16 June 1836 the Mary Rose was found when a fishing net caught on the wreck, and diver John Deane recovered timbers, guns, longbows and other items. But the location was forgotten after Deane stopped work on the site in 1840.

Related Topics:
16 June - 1836

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Alexander McKee started a new search in 1965, and in 1967 Professor Harold Edgerton found an acoustic anomaly by using side-scan sonar. In 1971 a springtide, combined with a severe gale, uncovered a layer of sediment, leaving several structural timbers clearly visible. In the years that followed, it became clear that the wreck lay on her starboard side, at an angle of 60°.

Related Topics:
1965 - 1967 - Harold Edgerton - Side-scan sonar - 1971 - Sediment

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In 1979 the Mary Rose Trust was formed to excavate the wreck. First, the wreck was lifted by means of a lifting frame. After that, the wreck, still under water, could be lifted onto a support cradle. On October 11 1982 the wreck was lifted from the water and put upright in a dry dock with a temperature of 2–6 °C and a relative humidity of 95%.

Related Topics:
1979 - October 11 - 1982

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In 1994 work started on a three-stage conservation process using low-molecular-weight polyethylene glycol. The second stage consists of spraying the wreck with a high-molecular-weight polyethylene glycol; these first two stages will take at least twenty years to complete. In the third stage, the wreck will be slowly dried.

Related Topics:
1994 - Polyethylene glycol

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A great number of artifacts were found during excavation, including navigational equipment, guns, longbows, personal belongings, and human remains. These artifacts, and the wreck itself, are displayed at the Mary Rose museum located on the Royal Naval base in Portsmouth, England.

Related Topics:
Navigation - Gun - Longbow - Royal Naval

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See HMS Mary Rose for other ships of this name.

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