Introduction
I wrote this last year for my club forum and one of the British dive forums, I know its generally bad form to repost stuff from other forums, but I thought to some, it might be of interest.
The piece is about a visit to the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth England. The Mary Rose Museum is on the site of the Historic Portsmouth Dockyards .
The site is extensive, and houses a number of interesting sites, including HMS Victory the Royal Navy Museum, a short boat ride also takes you to the Submarine Museum.
History
For those of you who have not heard of the Mary rose, a little History.
Construction started in 1509 on the instruction of the King Henry VIII. She first saw action between 1512-1514 in the First French War. She was the Flagship.
She was again in action during the Second French War 1522-1525.
She was refitted between 1535 and 1536.
Her final voyage was during the Third French War.
In May 1545, the French navy gathered in the Seine estuary, intending to land troops on English soil. The English fleet mustered at Portsmouth under Viscount Lisle. In early July the French fleet set sail and entered the Solent with 128 ships on 16 July. The English had 80 ships in place to oppose them, including the Mary Rose, but retreated into Portsmouth harbour as the fighting vessels were most effective in sheltered water.
The first day of the Battle of the Solent consisted of a long range cannonade between the French galleys and the English fleet in which neither side suffered any real loss. On the night of the 18 July 1545, Henry VIII dined on the flagship, the Henry Grace a Dieu, along with his admiral Viscount Lisle.
There are conflicting accounts as to what happened in the battle. According to the French, early in the morning of the 19 July, the French galleys took up the battle, trying to lure the English within range of their main fleet. The calm allowed the French to pound the English ships all too easily. Suddenly, much to the delight of the French, the Mary Rose heeled over and sank.
Other accounts say that the French fleet attacked when Henry VIII was at dinner, and the Mary Rose sank towards the evening. What is certain is that hundreds of men aboard the Mary Rose drowned as she went down, with only around 25 survivors.
The Search and Recovery
In 1965 Alexander McKee lead a team off amateur dives and archeologists in a search for the Mary Rose. She was finally located on the 5 May 1971. Between 1971 and 1978 limited excavations where carried out. In 1979 the Mary rose Trust was set up, and a full time staff employed to continue the archeological work with the assistance of amateur divers. Between 1979 and 1982 she was progressively excavated, with hundreds of thousands of relics recovered for conservation.
Finally in 1982, she was broke the surface, 437 years after leaving the surface. Having been raised, the conservation work started.
A purpose built Museum opened in May 2013, although she was available to the public to visit from 1984.
Conservation is due to be completed in 2016.
A VISIT TO THE MARY ROSE MUSEUM
In March 2015 I had the opportunity to visit the Mary Rose Museum (and the Victory and Victory Museum).
Below is a little write up.
I have for sometime wanted to visit the Mary Rose which is now housed at the Portsmouth Dockyard in a purpose built museum. On Sunday 15 March 2015, Sarah and I visited the dockyards, in particular the Mary Rose Exhibition, but also the Victory and the Victory Museum.
The Mary Rose Museum is located at the furthest point from the entrance, although a new World War 1 exhibition is due to open in the next year which will be a little further away. The walk is not unreasonable, but those with small children or unable to walk long distances may find it a little of a challenge. I understand there are ‘buggies’ for those who need them, although you would need to confirm this in advance.
On entry to the museum, you pass through the reception and ticket area. Just before you enter the first part of the exhibition, there is a terminal that allows you to look up those that contributed in one way or another to the Mary Rose project. If you enter the name Malcom, our own Malcom Storey appears as one of the divers involved.
When you leave the reception/ café and shop area and enter the start of the exhibition. There is a replica of a painting of the battle in which the Mary Rose was lost on a large screen taking up the complete wall. This is extremely well done. In front of the painting are terminals that allow you to enlarge specific areas of the painting. In addition, points of interest can be ‘clicked’ on and are then explained in more detail. This first room explains the building, refitting, loss and finding of the Mary Rose.
The exhibition houses the Mary Rose in the centre of the building. At each end you pass through a room housing items from the wreck with explanations. These include not only personal items that belong to the crew, but reconstructions of particular individuals from the crew. There are three floors, housing the exhibition, these mimic three decks of the ship.
From the first room you pass into a corridor. The lighting is intentionally dim. To your right is the hull of the Mary Rose. This is the starboard side of the wreck that was preserved in the silt of the Solent. The corridor is in effect the port side, containing items that would have been on the port side of the wreck.
You enter at the stern on the gun deck. Currently, you can only see the actual Mary Rose through a series of windows. By 2016, once the preservation process has been completed, the wall will be removed and replaced with a glass wall, allowing an uninterrupted view of the wreck.
When you exit the corridor, you enter another exhibition room housing items from the deck you have walked through. From here, you go down a floor to the lower deck, storage and cooking area. Again the room here houses items from the lower deck. From here you enter the corridor, this time you walk from the bow to the stern, on your left the Mary Rose, on your right the items from the port side of the wreck positioned where they would have been on the wreck.
Exiting the corridor, you enter another room with more items from the lower deck area. At this point you have the choice to use the stairs or the lift to go up to the upper deck. I would strongly recommend the lift. Initially I took the stairs, the healthy option. But I was then directed back to the lift. On entering the lift, the doors close and the lights are dimmed, this is so you can look out of the glass wall at the stern and along the length of the wreck, very impressive.
On third floor the room you enter contains items from upper deck, including officers possessions, weapons etc. From here you now enter the corridor at the stern of the wreck, and walk towards the bow. Exiting the corridor you enter the last exhibition room. As you final exit the exhibition, there is a small display on the search and excavation of the wreck.
Either at the end of the year or early next year, the current walls will be removed and replaced with glass. We plan to revisit the exhibition once this is done, it will significantly improve an already impressive exhibition.
In summary
The museum is a mixture of modern and old presentation techniques. The view of the wreck itself is currently restricted by the wall, and I can imagine that when busy, it is difficult to find space around the windows (there are a variety of sizes and heights). This will be greatly improved when the new glass wall is fitted. The three levels of the exhibition mimic the three decks of the wreck, this gives a good feel for the size of the wreck and the height of the decks. As well as the items exhibited behind glass, there are a number of items, or replicas that you can handles, including some of the weapons (or replicas of weapons) recovered from the wreck (bows and pikes). Modern touch screens allow you to select items of interest or sections of the wreck for more information. There are also a number of video presentations as you walk through the exhibition rooms. The staff are helpful and informative and some are dressed in period costume.
One of the 'clever' techniques used in the display is the use of Perspex. One of the cannon is mounted on a Perspex gun mount, a lot of the weapons that are missing the metal components (axes, pikes etc) have the missing part replaced with Perspex. This gives the item meaning and highlights the preserved component.
I am not sure how ‘child friendly’ the exhibition is. There are a number of other museums and activity areas in the docks which may well suit children better.
Addendum
The history of diving / finding the wreck is quite interesting.
After the initial sinking, there was an attempt to salvage items from the wreck. In particular the cannon which where a significant investment and would have been highly desirable. This initial attempt was unsuccessful.
During the Victorian period, with early diving equipment, the site was dived when investigated to see why fishermen where loosing nets in the area. It was identified as the wreck of the Mary Rose from the two cannon which where found and recovered.
This information was later used in the 1960's when searching for the wreck.
The wreck site initial position was confirmed using a sonar device, once a possible site had been determined it was dived.
The interesting thing was that the actual timber was 9 feet below the silt, so those searching for the site had to excavate 9 feet of silt to confirm they where in he correct place, that's a lot of silt!
Apologies for any factual mistakes. Corrections great fully received
. This is as I remember it from my 2-3 hours walk around.
I wrote this last year for my club forum and one of the British dive forums, I know its generally bad form to repost stuff from other forums, but I thought to some, it might be of interest.
The piece is about a visit to the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth England. The Mary Rose Museum is on the site of the Historic Portsmouth Dockyards .
The site is extensive, and houses a number of interesting sites, including HMS Victory the Royal Navy Museum, a short boat ride also takes you to the Submarine Museum.
History
For those of you who have not heard of the Mary rose, a little History.
Construction started in 1509 on the instruction of the King Henry VIII. She first saw action between 1512-1514 in the First French War. She was the Flagship.
She was again in action during the Second French War 1522-1525.
She was refitted between 1535 and 1536.
Her final voyage was during the Third French War.
In May 1545, the French navy gathered in the Seine estuary, intending to land troops on English soil. The English fleet mustered at Portsmouth under Viscount Lisle. In early July the French fleet set sail and entered the Solent with 128 ships on 16 July. The English had 80 ships in place to oppose them, including the Mary Rose, but retreated into Portsmouth harbour as the fighting vessels were most effective in sheltered water.
The first day of the Battle of the Solent consisted of a long range cannonade between the French galleys and the English fleet in which neither side suffered any real loss. On the night of the 18 July 1545, Henry VIII dined on the flagship, the Henry Grace a Dieu, along with his admiral Viscount Lisle.
There are conflicting accounts as to what happened in the battle. According to the French, early in the morning of the 19 July, the French galleys took up the battle, trying to lure the English within range of their main fleet. The calm allowed the French to pound the English ships all too easily. Suddenly, much to the delight of the French, the Mary Rose heeled over and sank.
Other accounts say that the French fleet attacked when Henry VIII was at dinner, and the Mary Rose sank towards the evening. What is certain is that hundreds of men aboard the Mary Rose drowned as she went down, with only around 25 survivors.
The Search and Recovery
In 1965 Alexander McKee lead a team off amateur dives and archeologists in a search for the Mary Rose. She was finally located on the 5 May 1971. Between 1971 and 1978 limited excavations where carried out. In 1979 the Mary rose Trust was set up, and a full time staff employed to continue the archeological work with the assistance of amateur divers. Between 1979 and 1982 she was progressively excavated, with hundreds of thousands of relics recovered for conservation.
Finally in 1982, she was broke the surface, 437 years after leaving the surface. Having been raised, the conservation work started.
A purpose built Museum opened in May 2013, although she was available to the public to visit from 1984.
Conservation is due to be completed in 2016.
A VISIT TO THE MARY ROSE MUSEUM
In March 2015 I had the opportunity to visit the Mary Rose Museum (and the Victory and Victory Museum).
Below is a little write up.
I have for sometime wanted to visit the Mary Rose which is now housed at the Portsmouth Dockyard in a purpose built museum. On Sunday 15 March 2015, Sarah and I visited the dockyards, in particular the Mary Rose Exhibition, but also the Victory and the Victory Museum.
The Mary Rose Museum is located at the furthest point from the entrance, although a new World War 1 exhibition is due to open in the next year which will be a little further away. The walk is not unreasonable, but those with small children or unable to walk long distances may find it a little of a challenge. I understand there are ‘buggies’ for those who need them, although you would need to confirm this in advance.
On entry to the museum, you pass through the reception and ticket area. Just before you enter the first part of the exhibition, there is a terminal that allows you to look up those that contributed in one way or another to the Mary Rose project. If you enter the name Malcom, our own Malcom Storey appears as one of the divers involved.
When you leave the reception/ café and shop area and enter the start of the exhibition. There is a replica of a painting of the battle in which the Mary Rose was lost on a large screen taking up the complete wall. This is extremely well done. In front of the painting are terminals that allow you to enlarge specific areas of the painting. In addition, points of interest can be ‘clicked’ on and are then explained in more detail. This first room explains the building, refitting, loss and finding of the Mary Rose.
The exhibition houses the Mary Rose in the centre of the building. At each end you pass through a room housing items from the wreck with explanations. These include not only personal items that belong to the crew, but reconstructions of particular individuals from the crew. There are three floors, housing the exhibition, these mimic three decks of the ship.
From the first room you pass into a corridor. The lighting is intentionally dim. To your right is the hull of the Mary Rose. This is the starboard side of the wreck that was preserved in the silt of the Solent. The corridor is in effect the port side, containing items that would have been on the port side of the wreck.
You enter at the stern on the gun deck. Currently, you can only see the actual Mary Rose through a series of windows. By 2016, once the preservation process has been completed, the wall will be removed and replaced with a glass wall, allowing an uninterrupted view of the wreck.
When you exit the corridor, you enter another exhibition room housing items from the deck you have walked through. From here, you go down a floor to the lower deck, storage and cooking area. Again the room here houses items from the lower deck. From here you enter the corridor, this time you walk from the bow to the stern, on your left the Mary Rose, on your right the items from the port side of the wreck positioned where they would have been on the wreck.
Exiting the corridor, you enter another room with more items from the lower deck area. At this point you have the choice to use the stairs or the lift to go up to the upper deck. I would strongly recommend the lift. Initially I took the stairs, the healthy option. But I was then directed back to the lift. On entering the lift, the doors close and the lights are dimmed, this is so you can look out of the glass wall at the stern and along the length of the wreck, very impressive.
On third floor the room you enter contains items from upper deck, including officers possessions, weapons etc. From here you now enter the corridor at the stern of the wreck, and walk towards the bow. Exiting the corridor you enter the last exhibition room. As you final exit the exhibition, there is a small display on the search and excavation of the wreck.
Either at the end of the year or early next year, the current walls will be removed and replaced with glass. We plan to revisit the exhibition once this is done, it will significantly improve an already impressive exhibition.
In summary
The museum is a mixture of modern and old presentation techniques. The view of the wreck itself is currently restricted by the wall, and I can imagine that when busy, it is difficult to find space around the windows (there are a variety of sizes and heights). This will be greatly improved when the new glass wall is fitted. The three levels of the exhibition mimic the three decks of the wreck, this gives a good feel for the size of the wreck and the height of the decks. As well as the items exhibited behind glass, there are a number of items, or replicas that you can handles, including some of the weapons (or replicas of weapons) recovered from the wreck (bows and pikes). Modern touch screens allow you to select items of interest or sections of the wreck for more information. There are also a number of video presentations as you walk through the exhibition rooms. The staff are helpful and informative and some are dressed in period costume.
One of the 'clever' techniques used in the display is the use of Perspex. One of the cannon is mounted on a Perspex gun mount, a lot of the weapons that are missing the metal components (axes, pikes etc) have the missing part replaced with Perspex. This gives the item meaning and highlights the preserved component.
I am not sure how ‘child friendly’ the exhibition is. There are a number of other museums and activity areas in the docks which may well suit children better.
Addendum
The history of diving / finding the wreck is quite interesting.
After the initial sinking, there was an attempt to salvage items from the wreck. In particular the cannon which where a significant investment and would have been highly desirable. This initial attempt was unsuccessful.
During the Victorian period, with early diving equipment, the site was dived when investigated to see why fishermen where loosing nets in the area. It was identified as the wreck of the Mary Rose from the two cannon which where found and recovered.
This information was later used in the 1960's when searching for the wreck.
The wreck site initial position was confirmed using a sonar device, once a possible site had been determined it was dived.
The interesting thing was that the actual timber was 9 feet below the silt, so those searching for the site had to excavate 9 feet of silt to confirm they where in he correct place, that's a lot of silt!
Apologies for any factual mistakes. Corrections great fully received
. This is as I remember it from my 2-3 hours walk around.
