The Mary Rose is, thanks to her high profile recovery in 1982, a fairly well-known name in the UK, but where did the name come from?

There have been many suggestions over the years, but these are the main ones.

Europe, 1512; The War of the League of Cambrai was waging. Although this was mostly an Italian war, all the European Countries were taking sides, and at this point England had allied itself with Spain, the Papal states and the Holy Roman Empire against an old foe: France.

At the...

The Mary Rose on display in Portsmouth is certainly the most famous ship to bear that name, but it wasn’t the last. Many ship names are passed to the next generation of vessels, retaining their battle honours, so you see ships called Ark Royal with honours including the Spanish Armada...

The Battle of the Solent, on 19th July 1545, is one of those events in history that had the potential to be very important, but is pretty much unknown. Indeed, many people who live near the Solent probably would never have heard of this battle on their doorstep if it...