Medieval History
After 34 years of service in war against the French the pride of the English Tudor Navy, fully equipped with cannons and guns of various make and construction and manned by over 500 men (and quite possibly up to 700 in 1545) many of whom were Longbowmen, met her ending when she sank in the Solent about a mile off the dock at Portsmouth on July, 19, 1545 with King Henry VIII watching from his vantage point in Southsea Castle.
In the 1800's a pair of professional divers found the site and while some excavation and exploratory work was undertaken in the late 1970's it wasn't until the early 80's that serious excavation work began and in 1982 she was finally lifted from the sea bed. 437 years from the date of her unforeseen demise.
Of all the myriad of finds and artefacts the excavation has uncovered and brought back to the light, perhaps the most disquieting of finds are the skeletons of the young crew of the Mary Rose, most under 30 and averaging 5 foot 7 inches in height. Some as young as 13.
??
Yet here we are in the 21stcentury and what was an audio tour and the Mary Rose Exhibition has received a $35 million injection to become the 'new' Mary Rose Museum, opening late Spring 2013, where some of the 19,000 artefacts will be displayed and windows will allow visitors to view the hull as sprays are turned off and final conservation work begins.
- The Mary Rose Archers Were Among The Elite Soldiers Of The 16th Century, Research Reveals
The archers who fought on Henry VIII?s warship the Mary Rose, which sank in 1545, would have been elite soldiers for their time, standing over 6 feet tall and able to pull weights over 200 lbs. These findings come from a new research project being carried...
- All Saints North Street Church To Be Restored To 15th Century Form
Restoration work has begun at one of York?s finest medieval churches to return a chapel to the way it was almost 600 years ago. Officials at All Saints North Street want to restore the Lady Chapel to the form it took in 1421, when a hermit-like ?anchoress?...
- Sports Scientists Examine The Medieval Archers Of The Mary Rose
A unique project about the historical warship the Mary Rose which is providing information about life in medieval times is benefitting from 21st century technology. For the past 18 months the Mary Rose Trust has been working with sports scientists from...
- A Friday Indulgence - Medieval Stained Glass Heads From Norfolk
So much of English medieval stained glass survives as isolated fragments.. At Warham in North Norfolk, is an extraordinary collection of such fragments, mostly heads. They are the heads of saints, angels, kings, queens, bishops and clergy...
- Carnations For Our Lady
South Muskham, Nottinghamshire, originally uploaded by Vitrearum (Allan Barton).As we enter May, the month of Our Lady, here are a group of late medieval quarries decorated with Gillyflowers or Carnations. Carnations were one of a myriad of flowers that...
Medieval History
The Rise and Fall and Rise Again of The Mary Rose
After 34 years of service in war against the French the pride of the English Tudor Navy, fully equipped with cannons and guns of various make and construction and manned by over 500 men (and quite possibly up to 700 in 1545) many of whom were Longbowmen, met her ending when she sank in the Solent about a mile off the dock at Portsmouth on July, 19, 1545 with King Henry VIII watching from his vantage point in Southsea Castle.
And there she lay, an English Queen of the seas, taking most of the crew with her, given over to the salty embrace of her own Portsmouth Harbour, her guns silenced for an eternity.
In the 1800's a pair of professional divers found the site and while some excavation and exploratory work was undertaken in the late 1970's it wasn't until the early 80's that serious excavation work began and in 1982 she was finally lifted from the sea bed. 437 years from the date of her unforeseen demise.
Of all the myriad of finds and artefacts the excavation has uncovered and brought back to the light, perhaps the most disquieting of finds are the skeletons of the young crew of the Mary Rose, most under 30 and averaging 5 foot 7 inches in height. Some as young as 13.
Over 500 had been on board that ship (although some say as many as 700 could have been crewing it when she went down), only 40 reported as surviving and 179 skeletons, part and full, found in varying locations amoungst her deteriorating timbers. Hauntingly, some were still located where they had been manning cannons in the galleys before she sank.
??
Yet here we are in the 21stcentury and what was an audio tour and the Mary Rose Exhibition has received a $35 million injection to become the 'new' Mary Rose Museum, opening late Spring 2013, where some of the 19,000 artefacts will be displayed and windows will allow visitors to view the hull as sprays are turned off and final conservation work begins. So if you are travelling to the U.K looking for things to see or a local passing by Portsmouth one day after Spring 2013, swing by the new Mary Rose museum and get lost in a time of a lavish, infamous and unforgettable history.
Photos courtesy of The Mary Rose Museum
Photos courtesy of The Mary Rose Museum
- MM
- The Mary Rose Archers Were Among The Elite Soldiers Of The 16th Century, Research Reveals
The archers who fought on Henry VIII?s warship the Mary Rose, which sank in 1545, would have been elite soldiers for their time, standing over 6 feet tall and able to pull weights over 200 lbs. These findings come from a new research project being carried...
- All Saints North Street Church To Be Restored To 15th Century Form
Restoration work has begun at one of York?s finest medieval churches to return a chapel to the way it was almost 600 years ago. Officials at All Saints North Street want to restore the Lady Chapel to the form it took in 1421, when a hermit-like ?anchoress?...
- Sports Scientists Examine The Medieval Archers Of The Mary Rose
A unique project about the historical warship the Mary Rose which is providing information about life in medieval times is benefitting from 21st century technology. For the past 18 months the Mary Rose Trust has been working with sports scientists from...
- A Friday Indulgence - Medieval Stained Glass Heads From Norfolk
So much of English medieval stained glass survives as isolated fragments.. At Warham in North Norfolk, is an extraordinary collection of such fragments, mostly heads. They are the heads of saints, angels, kings, queens, bishops and clergy...
- Carnations For Our Lady
South Muskham, Nottinghamshire, originally uploaded by Vitrearum (Allan Barton).As we enter May, the month of Our Lady, here are a group of late medieval quarries decorated with Gillyflowers or Carnations. Carnations were one of a myriad of flowers that...