One of the most interesting things about England is the famous Mary Rose, an English Warship that was built in Portsmouth between 1509 and 1511 and served in the Royal Navy. Mary Rose is renowned for experiencing a shipwreck, which was raised in 1982 and later put on a display. These are some wonderful facts for you to explore about the Mary Rose.
Mary Rose Could Hold As Many As 700 Crew Members
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Although having a normal crew size of about 400, Mary Rose could house about 700 people. The increase in numbers occurs mostly during wartime, where you have so many soldiers on board. The people on board were mainly in their late teens or early twenties.
Mary Rose Wreckage Wasn’t Discovered Until 1761
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History has it that Mary Rose experienced wreckage, but it took a while before it came to the knowledge of the people. Although it sank into very fine silt, it was discovered in May 1971. Much of the ship items are still very much preserved, including ointments and medicine flasks used by the surgeon, a large number of wooden dishes as well as tools owned by onboard carpenters. Clothing items that summed up to six hundred and fifty-five were also found and a nit comb complete with nits. All these items were preserved to portray the history of the warship.
Mary Rose Sinkage Led To The Drowning Of Hundreds Of Lives
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According to the Mary Rose museum, a major reason why the warship sank was human error. The warship sank in July 1545 when Henry VIII led his army to a battle in that same year, where they had taken up a defensive position against formidable French Fleet. It was caught in a French attack on another vessel, which led to it sinking. Hundreds of men aboard the ship drown, with only 25 surviving. Other reasons associated with the ship sinking may include overloading, a gust of wind that made the ship unstable, or a cannonball fired by the French.
The Warship’s Design
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Although substantially rebuilt in 1536, the construction of the original design from1509 is less known. Mary Rose was built according to the carrack-style system with the high castles. There are additional decks in the castle, but the design was reconstructed from historical records since none of them survived. An orlop above the main deck was created to house heavy guns. Mary Rose also has an upper deck that has the main living quarters of the crew underneath the castle. The layout was supported in the illustration in the Anthony roll and gun inventories.
The Mary Rose Museum
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Due to the ship wreckage that occurred in the past, Mary Rose has been transformed into a museum where you can visit and view the remains of the incident. The warship is so large that you can find three floors dedicated to viewing its different decks. It started thirty years ago in 1982 and has finally reached the last stage of its progressive evolution.
