The Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth has added a new immersive experience. 1545 – When Their World Ended is available for all to enjoy from Monday 26 July 2021.
As I last visited the Mary Rose Museum back in 2013, just before it opened, this was a great reason to return.
What Is The Mary Rose?
The Mary Rose is the world’s only surviving sixteenth-century warship. She was built in Portsmouth dockyard and launched in 1511. The Mary Rose was one of the first ships to be able to fire broadside and was a firm favorite of Henry VIII. She was also one of the last ships to have archers shooting longbows.
Lying undiscovered for hundreds of years, entombed within the seabed, the wreck was finally located by divers in 1971. It took over ten years of excavation before the hull could be raised.
Why Did The Mary Rose Sink?
Contrary to popular belief, Mary Rose did not sink on her maiden voyage. She actually saw 34 year’s service as a king’s warship. She had traveled hundreds of miles during her career, from Scotland in the north to the Atlantic coast of France in the south.
On 19 July 1545, while Henry VIII watched from the mainland, the Mary Rose sank in the Solent, between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. She was part of an English fleet trying to stop the French ships landing on the Isle of Wight but sank before firing a single shot.
An eyewitness account of 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 maneuver.
Was it human error? Was it a shipbuilding design fault? Was she overloaded? Was it the French? Without a time machine, we’ll never know for certain.
1545 – When Their World Ended
As we told you recently, Oscar-winning actress Dame Judi Dench is the voice of the introduction to this immersive experience. She offers some background and reminisces about watching the ship being raised out of the water.
I remember watching too on 11 October 1982 as there was a global TV audience of 60 million. Did you watch it? Do you remember when it slipped, and we thought it was going to fall back to the seabed?
This is immersive, so you move through to another room, and Henry VIII is there explaining his use of the ship. Projections on both sides show you his history and his naval battles.
Then you move through to the last room, and the projections give the impression you are on board the Tudor warship on that fateful day. You get to (safely) re-live the final moments as she sinks during the Battle of the Solent on 19 July 1545. You can see the English on one side and the French on the other.
Cannons are firing, and then cannonballs start rolling across the deck and crashing through the side as the ship. And finally, she sinks, and the films make you feel as if you are going down (the room doesn’t move, don’t worry). The shock even made me feel cold when it happened. It’s all very dramatic and an excellent addition to the museum.
Portsmouth’s Top Visitor Attraction
For some visitors, having on display, the largest underwater archaeological excavation ever undertaken might not be enough. The Mary Rose Museum has the remains of the ship plus the world’s largest collection of Tudor objects. Do note; this is a low-level lighting museum to avoid damage to the rare artifacts.
The museum receives no government funding, so it has to find innovative ways to enhance the visitor experience. Adding the 1545 immersive experience is just another way the museum has adapted since its opening in 2013.
While the Mary Rose was one of Henry VIII’s warships, The Mary Rose Museum is not the story of a king or even of the warship. It’s about the people who were on the ship and sank with it. (At least 500 men died when the ship went down. Only 35 survived.)
Continuing Your Visit
After the new immersive experience, the doors open, and you reach an exhibition about the 34 years of service the Mary Rose completed as a king’s ship. And you get your first glimpse of the famous salvaged ship through the glass.
How Did Only Half of the Mary Rose Survive?
The Mary Rose sank on her starboard side, leaving the port side to be slowly destroyed by erosion and by marine animals, fungi, and bacteria.
The starboard side survived because it became buried in the mud, which protected it from the underwater currents and from destructive organisms.
The water in the Solent contains large quantities of silt, which is built up both inside and around the hull. This smothered the remains of the ship, keeping out the oxygen that the wood-attacking creatures needed to live.
The Displays Are the Other Half
As there is roughly half of the ship left, the museum has been laid out, so the displays are on the other side of each deck level. You walk along a central walkway which appears to be down the middle of the ship. It’s a clever design, and there are atmospheric sounds added too.
Three Levels
There are three levels to see with galleries at each end. The end galleries have brighter lighting, so there is plenty of information about the artifacts, plus there are touch screens too.
There are cutaway diagrams of the ship on display to show you which corresponding deck you are on. I also loved the ‘look inside’ maps of the ship, which point out different uses. They reminded me of the Dorling Kindersley cross-section books.
The route starts on the main gun deck, and then you go down a level before getting a lift up to the top deck. There is a reason for that, as the top deck is the only area where you can see the Mary Rose without the glass wall. There’s an airlock at either end of the viewing gallery. From this Upper Deck, I watched a new short film displayed behind the Mary Rose, which brought it to life.
Brought To Life
While you spend time looking at the objects opposite the ship, there are films projected onto the Mary Rose so you can see people working on board.
As there is low lighting, there are not a lot of captions to read. But there are Gallery Attendants, so do ask questions. I was very impressed with their knowledge. One fact I discovered was that all boys and men were legally required to learn how to use a bow and arrow and to practice using them.
Teeth
I also discovered that the water you drank as a child contains a chemical record of three forms of oxygen. These have different ratios depending on latitude, temperature, and distance from the coast. So your teeth can be used to identify where you grew up. Science is amazing, isn’t it?
From some skulls found on board, there has been research done into the reconstruction of the faces. It really is quite something to see these 500-year-old sailors looking back at you.
What Else Can You See?
I was pleased to see that the skeleton of Hatch, the ship’s dog, is still on display. The dog would have been there as a rat catcher and a companion.
I mentioned that the museum is about the people. You can see the carpenter’s tools, the surgeon’s chest, and a gunner’s uniform. These are not reproductions; these are the real objects saved from the seabed.
The display of nit combs (for removing headlice) always makes me feel itchy but does normalize the sailors for family visitors.
Honesty
You may remember when museums would try to ‘repair’ their objects, so you were no longer sure what was original. What I liked here was the way clear perspex has been used to fill the missing parts but not causing any confusion as to what has survived and what’s missing. The perspex simply completes the reconstruction.
Gift Shop
There’s a really good museum shop, and you can shop online too. After a couple of glasses during my preview visit, I can definitely recommend the Tudor gin created by the Portsmouth Distillery. It is flavored with botanicals found on the wreck of the Mary Rose, including dandelion, hazelnut, hemp seeds, and cherry. Every bottle sold contributes to the Mary Rose Trust.
Anniversary Next Year
2022 is the 40th anniversary of the raising of the Mary Rose, so I look forward to seeing how the museum celebrates.
Visitor Information
Address: Mary Rose Museum, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, Main Road, HM Naval Base, Portsmouth PO1 3PY
Tickets: Adult £24, Senior £23, Child (age 4-15) £19
You can also buy an explorer ticket that includes up to three attractions at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard (HMS Victory, the Mary Rose, and HMS Warrior)
Adult £34, Senior £33, Child (age 4-15) £24
Official Website: maryrose.org
