FLAGSHIP of Henry VIII's navy - The Mary RoseThis is a featured page


The Mary Rose
- Flagship of King Henry VIII's Navy
The Mary Rose

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Season 1, Henry proudly shows the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V
his flagship, the Mary Rose, named after his sister

Note: however, that the ship indicated to be Mary Rose, has only three masts, when in contemporary illustrations she has four.
The Mary Rose


The cause of the sinking of Henry VIII's Vice Flagship, the Mary Rose, as she sailed out to meet the French fleet on 19th July AD 1545, has remained an enduring mystery; at the time, the French claimed that the ship was holed by French canon fire whilst the British maintained that she sank due to a poorly executed navigational manoeuver. On the day of the sinking there was a total crew complement of 415 men onboard. Recently an analysis of the commingled human assemblage identified only 179. From measuring bone collagen and enamel apatite of 18 of these individuals, information about their diets and origins have been deduced. Indications are that a significant proportion of the crew did not originate in Britain, but rather they came from warmer, more southerly, regions of Europe (eg. Spain). These data suggest the presence of 33-60% of non-natives, possibly mercenaries, amongst the crew. Together with the contemporary remark shouted from the Mary Rose to a passing ship, that the Admiral had the "type of knaves of whom he could not rule", the results lend weight to the suggestion that poor communication contributed to the disaster.

However, it is possible that this quote was invented by Sir Peter Carew to exonerate his brother, and blame the ordinary sailor. Also, recent work on the enamel isotopes indicates that the majority foreign theory maybe innacurate.


Sinking of the Mary Rose
The Sinking of the Mary Rose



Mary Rose (BBC reproduction)
Thanks to the BBC for this picture from their documentary
( can be viewed below in the links)
INTERESTING FACTS:
  • Built in Portsmouth, England (1509-1510)
  • One of the earliest built warships of the Royal Navy
  • It was 38.5m (132 ft) long and 11.7m (38 ft) beam
  • displaced 500 tons (700 tons after1536 with a refit)
  • The crew consisted of 200 sailors, 185 soldiers, and 30 gunners.
  • After the 1536 refit, she mounted 91 guns
  • In 1545, Francis I launched an invasion on England of 225 ships and 30, 000 men - larger than the Spanish Armada 43 years later.
  • All but 35 of the crew died when the ship sank in 1545.
  • In 1836, a diver's fishing net caught on the wreck and artifacts like long bows & guns were found but work stopped by 1840
  • In 1965 a new search was started and in 1967, sonar found an acoustic anomaly.
  • In 1971 a severe gale, uncovered several structural timbers .
  • In 1979 the Mary Rose Trust was formed and an archeological team began work.
  • On 11 October 1982 the wreck was lifted from the water by a team led by the Royal Engineers, and put upright in a dry dock with a temperature of 2–6°C and a relative humidity of 95%.
Wreck of the Mary Rose

"There is no comparable collection of Tudor artifacts anywhere: no other archaeological site has given us so many insights into Tudor life. No other shipwreck, no other structure and no other collection gives such a clear window into the 16th century. It is no exaggeration to describe the Mary Rose as England’s Pompeii.


Mary Rose
The Mary Rose today

Her loss at a precise moment gives us a chronological reference point for all the artefacts that went down with her. This is almost unique for a museum collection. Specialists from many fields consistently remark how the Mary Rose artifacts they have studied represent the earliest known examples of their type or provide unique information for the study of human society."
~Dr Eric Kentley - Times Online
LIFE ABOARD THE MARY ROSE





From http://hvg.heinemann.co.uk
he story of the Tudor warship the Mary Rose, complete with re-enactments of what conditions were like on board, plus information about the historical finds yielded after its sunken remains were excavated and raised: almost half of the many finds excavated have now been either restored or conserved; it is a true example of a time capsule as many of the artefacts would not have survived anywhere else; a number of dice and coins were found indicating that gambling was a popular pastime for the crew; the longbows recovered are probably the only surviving examples of the weaponry used to such devastating effect against the French in many of the battles of the time; animal bones excavated from the wreck suggest the food consumed by the crew - beef, pork, fish and venison were all eaten; a gallon of watered-down beer per day was given to each crew member; the officers had music as an extra with their meals.


LINKS:
LITERATURE:



Join the Mary Rose Crew


Mary Rose 500 Appeal on YouTube

The Mary Rose needs you!
Rear Admiral John Lippiett, Chief Executive of the Mary Rose Trust asks for your help
http://www.maryrose500.
Mary Rose 500: recruiting the new crew is the public fundraising campaign being launched by
the Mary Rose Trust, which has already raised £10 million towards a £14 million target,
to contribute to the full £35 million cost of the new museum project.
The Heritage Lottery Fund has confirmed an award of £21 million which meets the rest of the cost.
The Mary Rose 500 appeal is looking for 500 individuals, schools, businesses, organisations,
clubs, societies, colleges, to come on board and symbolically become the new crew
of the Mary Rose, each pledging to raise £500 and become a part of the Mary Rose history.
To join the new crew visit www.maryrose500.org

The importance of 500 to the Mary Rose the original crew numbered some 500
and it is the 500th anniversary this year of Henry VIII coming to the throne
and of his commissioning of the Mary Rose. With funding secure, the new museum
will also open in time to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the start of the ships operational life (2012).

















MsSquirrly
MsSquirrly 		Latest page update: made by MsSquirrly , Dec 20 2010, 10:46 PM EST (about this update About This Update MsSquirrly emphasis on the series - MsSquirrly

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Keyword tags: The Mary Rose
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TheMaryRoseWarship Costumes from the series on display at The Mary Rose Museum (page: 1 2) 20 Apr 26 2011, 11:34 AM EDT by TheMaryRoseWarship
Thread started: Jan 25 2011, 4:24 AM EST  Watch
If you live in the UK then you can see the costumes from the series from 29th January until 31st March at the Mary Rose Museum Portsmouth. 11am - 3pm www.maryrose500.org for information. Joan Bergin and Michael Hirst have kindly loaned us the costumes to help raise money for the 500 Appeal to build a new home for Henry VIII favourite ship, Admission is free but donations welcomed
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royalfalcon On This Day 19th July 1545 3 Jul 19 2010, 11:37 AM EDT by Kittywake09
Thread started: Jul 19 2010, 6:08 AM EDT  Watch
King Henry VIII's prized warship the Mary Rose sank off Portsmouth. This tragedy was witnessed by the King who had gone down to Portsmouth to review his fleet and oversee operations. The horrified King was heard to cry "Oh my gentlemen! my gallent gentlemen" he then turned to comfort Lady Carew whose husband George Carew, Vice Admiral of the Fleet had gone down with the stricken ship.
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Elliemental The Mary Rose 2 May 16 2010, 9:20 PM EDT by Elliemental
Thread started: May 16 2010, 11:16 AM EDT  Watch
Seeing as they are covering Henry's final war with France, I do hope they show the sinking of the Mary Rose and possibly show what could have caused it. Does anyone know if this has been covered?
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Costumes from the series on display at The Mary Rose Museum