Continuing our Portsmouth 100 centennial celebrations, this October half term come and meet our Tudor crew on board the Mary Rose and find out what life was like onboard Henry VIII’s favourite ship! Learn all about the myths and superstitions that our sailors lived by, before trying your hand at loading and firing a Tudor gun!
You can even make your own linstock (lighting stick) and decorate it with a fiery dragon’s head to shine a light at Halloween!
Make your own linstock
Monday to Friday | 1100 to 1500
Linstocks were decorated wooden poles, used to ignite the fuse on a cannon while keeping your distance. Each gun captain would decorate his own linstock, ofetn with a dragon’s head, so make your own cardboard version in our learning centre to brighten the autumn days as winter gloom descends on Portsmouth!
Superstitions at sea
Monday to Friday | 1130, 1230, 1330 and 1415
Come and meet our Tudor sailors and discover which mythical creatures terrified them, and how they warded off the dark spirits of the sea! Why was it forbidden to whistle on board and why was there a ships dog and no cat to catch the rats and mice scurrying the murky decks of the Mary Rose? Then gather around our Tudor replica gun and learn how teamwork was a vital part of living, working and fighting on board a Tudor warship. Free activities for the entire family to enjoy!
