The Mary Rose was Henry VIII’s flagship and his favourite vessel. Launched in 1511 soon after he came to power. She had seen action against the French in a number of Cross Channel skirmishes against the French.
In 1545 the French were attacking England and had 225 vessels in the Solent on the attack against only 80 English. It seems a matter of some amazement that the Mary Rose sank so quickly before all eyes, to this day we do not know why.
What then do we go to see? A snapshot of history, how the men lived on board, bronze guns as good as new, how they cooked, surgeon’s tools. In fact it is quite remarkable and very interesting what has survived about 460 years in the mud of the Solent.
A good range of Cafés are available for our lunches. Application form press here.