The Mary Rose

In a dry dock behind HMS Victory is the new Mary Rose museum.  The building was purpose built to house the remains the flagship of King Henry VIII which capsized and sank in the Solent in 1545. The museum is very well done; the remains of the Mary Rose are on its starboard side and on the port side the artifacts that were found with the ship were displayed laid out as they would have been on the ship. The starboard side was preserved by silt whilst the port-side was exposed and so decayed and was lost.

The Mary Rose is currently behind Perspex because she is being dried out as part of the final stages of the work undertaken to preserve her. It was good for me to have seen Victory first because the layout of the two ships is similar which allowed me to interpret clearly what I was seeing of the Mary Rose.

Mary Rose Revealed

Sometime in the late afternoon of July 19, 1545, the Mary Rose, one of the largest of Henry VIII’s great ships, heeled to the starboard and sank. As the King watched from his encampment on Southsea Common, scarcely a mile distant, he could not have realised what an unparalleled insight into his life and times this catastrophe would ensure. Mary Rose represents both a living community and a state-of-the-art fighting machine, fully manned and equipped for war. A 34-year old veteran, built in Portsmouth, she sank whilst engaging a French invasion fleet larger than the Spanish Armada of 43 years later. To date no marine excavation has attained the scale of the Mary Rose project, nor captured the imagination of the public so completely.

Only rarely in history have so many circumstances combined to preserve a complete community and a moment of such drama. Through this miracle of preservation, her historical treasures provide a unique and vivid impression of life at sea nearly half a millennium ago.

In 1945 Henry VIII watched as his ship sank to the seabed. Just over thirty years ago, His Royal Highness, Prince Charles, President of the Mary Rose Trust, watched as she rose from the seabed. Both have had intimate contact with the ship, King Henry dined with her captain the day before she sank, and Prince Charles dived on the day before she was raised.*

*From the Mary Rose Revealed guidebook

Cherie’s Place – Thought for the Week

We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it – we are going back from whence we came.

John F. Kennedy

Figurehead of HMS Warrior 1860

Warrior’s original figurehead has ended up at Fleet HQ, Northwood, London, only to crumble beyond repair sometime in the 1960s. The new ‘spirit of Warrior’, carved by two Isle of Wight craftsmen, weighed 2 tons and like the original was almost 4 metres (12 feet) high. In February 1985, it was hoisted aboard and attached to the stem-piece. *

*From the HMS Warrior guidebook

HMS Warrior 1860

HMS Warrior was the world’s first ocean going, iron-hulled, armoured warship – the largest, fastest and most powerful of the time. Launched on 29 December 1860, Warrior rendered all other warships obsolete overnight. She never fired a shot in anger, simply because she was too powerful for any other ship to think of challenging her. Indeed, her deterrent value contributed to Britain’s Security.

Forgotten for a century, restored to her original condition, and now moored in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, HMS Warrior is the only surviving embodiment of the most revolutionary changes to take place in the long and distinguished history of the Royal Navy.*

The Upper Deck

The Bridge

The Gun deck

Warriors main armament consisted of 26 68-pounder guns, loaded from the muzzle (front), capable of firing shot or shells nearly a mile and a half  (2.3 kilometers). They were reliable and effective, being a larger version of a tried-and-trusted design. Not so reliable were the ten new Armstrong 110-pounder breech loaders, fitted as a trial. These had rifled barrels for greater accuracy and fired cone-headed shot or shell almost double the distance of the ‘older’ guns. However, the trial was unsuccessful because the new guns had a nasty tendency to overheat and blow out the breechblock or just jam up.*

*From HMS Warrior 1860 guidebook

Figurehead of HMS Warrior

Third rate 74-gun battleship, launched in Portsmouth in 1781. Took part in the battle of Saintes (1782) and Nelson’s victory at Copenhagen (1801). Broken up in 1857.

This is the oldest figurehead in the Museum’s collection –  and one of the oldest warship figureheads in the world.*

*From an signboard next to the figurehead.

The Launch of HMS Warrior…

…18 November 1781

The 74-gun battleship Warrior is ready for launching in Portsmouth Dockyard. The completed hull is supported by a few last shores, while alongside, men are preparing the ropes that will secure her to the dock.

The traditional flags are flying from short poles where eventually her masts will be placed. These include the distinctive red flag, with the fouled anchor of the Admiralty Board and the Royal Standard.*

*From a sign next to the model ship

Vernopoly

This is HMS Vernon’s version of ‘Monopoly’. It includes missile-shaped pieces and locations like the main gate and Isle of Wight Ferry.

Paddle Steamer Waverley

The Waverley is the last seagoing Paddle Steamer in the World. Built on the Clyde in 1947 to replace the original Waverley that sunk off Dunkirk in 1940. The Waverley was originally built to sail only between Craigendorran & Arrochar in West Scotland.

Paddle Steamer Waverley, built almost 70 years ago, is the world’s last sea-going paddle steamer. In 1975, at the end of her working life, she was famously bought for £1 by the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society. Waverley Steam Navigation Co. Ltd, a charity registered in Scotland, was set up to operate the ship. Waverley then began a second career as one of the country’s best-loved tourist attractions.

HMS Dragon

HMS Dragon is a Type 45 air defence destroyer. When I visited Portsmouth Dockyard last September she was being refitted prior to her current deployment in the South Atlantic.

Less than a year after she returned from operations in the Gulf and Eastern Mediterranean the Type 45 destroyer will take over from HMS Iron Duke to continue the UK’s commitment to the region building on the UK’s strong ties with its allies.

During her time away Dragon will visit several ports in the South Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as well as visiting a number of West African States to build on UK relationships.

HMS M.33

HMS M.33 is a 1915 Coastal Bombardment Vessel, one of only two British warships to survive from the First World War.

She saw action in the Mediterranean between 1915 and 1918, supporting troop landings and evacuations at Gallipoli in 1915. Then in 1919, she played a part in the Russian Civil War covering the withdrawal of Allied and White Russian troops. Following her return from Russia, she spent the rest of her active life in Portsmouth Harbour.

Today she is berthed near the new Mary Rose Museum and Nelson’s flagship, HMS Victory, in Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard. Her location in No. 1 dry dock allows visitors to get a closer look at her exterior from the dockside, although currently she cannot be boarded. Her national and historical significance has been recognised and she features in the National Register of Historic Ships.

HMS M.33 is currently being renovated and it is planned that the work will be completed, allowing full public access, in time for the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli Campaign later this year.

The ship behind HMS M.33 is the recently retired HMS Illustrious.