The Mary Rose Preservation Needs Help Your

"We have an amazing and exciting opportunity to give the Nation a world-class museum and to preserve for future generations this extraordinary ship and all her treasures. The long period of spraying will come to an end in 2011 and the hull will be slowly dried out with conservation completed in 2016. The public will then enjoy a much closer, fully illuminated look at the ship. Over 14,000 of the artefacts will be displayed , shown in their original positions and in relation to their owners, presenting a vivid illustration of life on board a Tudor warship."

• The full Mary Rose story can then be told, and its significance to the study of Tudor life both on and off the water will be clearly illustrated and accessible to all.
• A new learning centre will quadruple the existing learning space and increase our work with people of all ages who have special needs.
• New and improved laboratory and workshop facilities will further enhance the Mary Rose as a Centre of Maritime Archaeology and Conservation.But all this will be very costly - in the order of £35M! To date, we have raised nearly £3.5 million through our Fundraising Appeal and our bid to the heritage Lottery Fund for £21 million has been successful.
• View the Mary Rose Appeal Video
  

We need your help because we receive no Government grants and we rely on voluntary donations.

Five things you probably didn’t know about the Henry VIII and his Mary Rose. For futher reading on the history of the Mary Rose go here. For more on the really interesting excavation go here.

The debate continues as to why the Mary Rose mysteriously sank off the Portsmouth coast in 1545. Four of the suggested possibilities are:

• Too many cooks and not enough skilled seamen on board
• Poor communication and slow responses from an international crew
• A hole made by a French cannonball in battle led to the Mary Rose taking water onboard
  The Mary Rose was too top heavy and keeled over when changing course

2. On 19th July 1545 Henry VIII was watching his fleet set sail to battle the approaching French and saw the Mary Rose sink. So did the wife of Vice Admiral Sir George Carew, who was on board – not surprisingly, she fainted

3. Scientists have used Facial Reconstruction technology to illustrate the facial features of the crew of the Mary Rose from skulls found on board (also attached):
4. As well as iron bolts The Mary Rose was held together by thousands of wooden pegs – each one made by hand

5. Celebrated Marine Artist Geoff Hunt researched the Mary Rose for 113 hours before he began his new painting of the ship, unveiled earlier this year. His research revealed that King Henry VIII’s flagship had one more fighting castle deck than had previously been thought, fuelling speculation that it was the ship’s top heaviness that may have led to her mysterious sinking (also attached)

Any help in spreading the word about our ambitious appeal to fund a new £35 million museum project. As it currently stands sadly there is no government funds for this project

The sailors aboard the Mary Rose engraved their personal possessions with their individual marks. Some of these marks will be etched into wooden panels forming the outer cladding of this remarkable new museum. To make your mark you can donate to buy a plank that will be displayed with your name on it.

Become a Patron
Patrons enjoy a very close relationship with the Trust. As a Patron you will have unlimited free access to the Mary Rose. In addition the following benefits will be yours:

• Regular updates with the Annual Report, newsletter etc
• Your own personal contact at the Trust
• Discounted goods in the shop
• Access, by arrangement, to the reserve collection and behind the scenes
• Invitations to social events and major functions
• Membership of the Mary Rose Society.

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