What was The Mary Rose?
(and no, it didn't sink first time out!)
There’s a common misconception that the Mary Rose sank on her maiden voyage.
In fact, she was a successful warship for Henry VIII for 34 years: almost the entire duration of his reign.
The only confirmed eyewitness account of the Mary Rose’s sinking says that she had fired all of her guns on one side and was turning when she was caught in a strong gust of wind.
Other accounts agree that she was turning, but there could be a number of reasons why she sank during this manoeuvre.
A huge team of divers, archaeologists and scientists was involved in raising the Mary Rose.
Amateurs and professionals alike were dedicated to the cause, and the project broke new ground in diving and conservation techniques.
From the artefacts and historical documents, we can piece together what kind of life the sailors may have had.
The Mary Rose offers us a unique glimpse into life in Tudor times.
You can view a gallery of images of the Mary Rose, both as paintings of how she was in the 16th century, and as photographs of how she is today!
Over 19,000 objects were recovered from the seabed, see a selection of them in our artefact gallery.