Fact-check log

The Mary Rose Trust traces her story from her commissioning by Henry VIII to the raising in 1982 and beyond. Mary Rose Trust

A Trust timeline teaser describes her history as running from being built in 1510 to a 21st century museum. Mary Rose Trust

The Trust’s timeline says that in 1510 the Mary Rose and Peter Pomegranate were ordered to be built at Portsmouth dockyard. Mary Rose Trust

In 1511, that timeline says, both ships were transferred from Portsmouth to London for ‘fitting out’. Mary Rose Trust

On 17 April 1512 the Mary Rose set sail under Lord Admiral Edward Howard. The Trust calls this her maiden voyage as a warship. Mary Rose Trust

The Battle of Saint-Mathieu, in 1512, was the first battle for the Mary Rose, the same timeline says. Mary Rose Trust

The Mary Rose was lost during the Battle of the Solent on 19 July 1545. Mary Rose Trust

In 1836, the Trust’s timeline says, Gosport fishermen reported nets being snagged in the Solent and the Mary Rose was re-discovered. A Deane salvage operation followed; from 1835–40, many of the objects recovered were turned into souvenirs. Mary Rose Trust

The Mary Rose was raised on 11 October 1982, the Trust’s timeline says. Mary Rose Trust

Treatment with polyethylene glycol (PEG) began in 1994, according to that timeline. Mary Rose Trust

The current Mary Rose Museum opened in 2013, the timeline says. Mary Rose Trust

The Mary Rose was built in 1510-11 at the start of Henry VIII’s reign and was one of his favourite ships for 34 years, until it sank in 1545, the Trust says. Mary Rose Trust

Henry VIII’s fleet, the Trust says, grew from five ships at the start of his reign to 53 by the time of his death in 1547. Mary Rose Trust

The earliest reference to the Mary Rose is 29 January 1510, in a letter ordering the construction of “two new ships”. These ships would become the Mary Rose and her sister ship, the Peter Pomegranate. They were built in Portsmouth, at the dockyard established by Henry VII. Mary Rose Trust

The first account that names the Mary Rose is a letter from June 1511. Mary Rose Trust

It is often claimed that the ship was named after Henry’s sister, Mary Tudor, the Trust says, but no evidence supports this. Instead, it was the fashion to name ships for saints, and the pairing of the Mary with the Peter supports this. Mary Rose Trust

The badges of the ships — the Rose and the Pomegranate — celebrate the royal couple: the rose being the symbol of the king, and the pomegranate that of his first wife, Katherine of Aragon. The Virgin Mary was known at the time as the ‘Mystic Rose’. Mary Rose Trust

The Mary Rose was larger than her sister ship — 600 tons to the Peter Pomegranate’s 450. Mary Rose Trust

It was the Mary Rose that the Admiral of the Fleet, Edward Howard, picked as his flagship at the Battle of St Mathieu on 10 August 1512. Mary Rose Trust

Henry watched from Southsea Castle as the battle progressed, the Trust says. Mary Rose Trust

Francois van der Delft, Imperial Ambassador and an eyewitness, wrote that towards evening, through misfortune and carelessness, the ship of Vice Admiral George Carew foundered, and all hands on board, to the number of about 500, were drowned, with the exception of five and twenty or thirty servants, sailors and the like, who escaped. Mary Rose Trust

A Fleming among the survivors, van der Delft wrote, said the disaster was caused by their not having closed the lowest row of gunports on one side. Having fired the guns on that side, she was turning in order to fire from her other, when the wind caught her sails so strongly as to heel her over, and plunged her open gunports beneath the water. Mary Rose Trust

It was from Southsea Castle, the Trust says, that Henry VIII witnessed the sinking of his favourite warship during the Battle of the Solent on 19 July 1545. Mary Rose Trust

Work began on constructing Southsea Castle in a second phase of building that started in 1544, to protect the Solent and Portsea Island from invasion. Mary Rose Trust

Southsea Castle didn’t take part in the fighting, the Trust says, but it provided a strategic vantage point for Henry and his land army to observe the battle, and watch the Mary Rose as it sank. Mary Rose Trust

The Mary Rose sank during the Battle of the Solent, a confrontation between French and English troops on the Isle of Wight, and a face-off between their fleets in the Solent between the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth. Mary Rose Trust

The only confirmed eyewitness, a Flemish sailor who escaped, claims that the Mary Rose had fired all her starboard side guns and was turning when her sails were caught in a strong gust of wind, pushing the gunports, which had been left open, below the waterline. Mary Rose Trust

Despite what you may have heard, the Trust says, the Mary Rose did not sink on her first time out of harbour. She was 34 years old when she sank, and had travelled hundreds of miles, from Scotland to the Atlantic coast of France. Mary Rose Trust

While it’s often claimed that the gunports were cut too low, the Trust says there is no evidence for this. Scuppers along the main gun deck would suggest that they were a decent height above the waterline. Mary Rose Trust

Studies of the size and shape of the Mary Rose, and the weight of the guns listed as onboard when she sank, suggest that while she was carrying a large number of guns for a ship of her size, it was still within the safe limit, the Trust says. Mary Rose Trust

A French cavalry officer present at the battle stated that the Mary Rose had been sunk by French guns. A granite cannonball, similar to a type found in France, was found on the main gun deck — but in a shot locker, and the stone is also found in the English West Country. Mary Rose Trust

The Battle of the Solent was on 19 July 1545, the Trust says. Mary Rose Trust

The French, that page says, had superior numbers — over 200 ships carrying 30,000 soldiers, much larger than the later Spanish Armada, compared with the 80 ships of the English fleet. Mary Rose Trust

John Dudley, Viscount Lisle and Lord Admiral, led from his flagship the Henry Grace à Dieu, on which Henry VIII dined the night before battle began. It was during this dinner that Henry gave command of the Mary Rose to Vice Admiral George Carew. Mary Rose Trust

It was late afternoon when the wind picked up. The Mary Rose was apparently the first to make her move, firing guns on one side before turning to fire those on the other side. It was during this manoeuvre that whatever went wrong happened, and the Mary Rose heeled over. Mary Rose Trust

It was decided on 22 July, only three days after the sinking, to abandon the invasion. Mary Rose Trust

The Mary Rose was raised on 11 October 1982, the Trust says, and was returning home to Portsmouth Dockyard, where she had been built almost 500 years earlier. Mary Rose Trust

The search was a result of the dedication of Alexander McKee. In 1965, with the Southsea branch of the British Sub-Aqua Club, he initiated Project Solent Ships. With him was land archaeologist Margaret Rule. Mary Rose Trust

Diver Percy Ackland found three or four frames of a ship on 1 May 1971. By the end of the day a row of frames had been exposed over about 30 metres. The Mary Rose had been found. Mary Rose Trust

The ship was on her starboard side at an angle of 60 degrees from the vertical. Mary Rose Trust

The Mary Rose Trust was formed in 1979 with the former Prince of Wales as president. They were helped by over 500 volunteer divers, and many more volunteers on shore. Mary Rose Trust

A purpose-built lifting frame was attached by wires to steel bolts passing through the hull. The hull was transferred into a steel cradle on the seabed, then raised to the surface by the crane barge Tog Mor, placed on a barge and towed ashore. Mary Rose Trust

Although the largest surviving part of the ship was raised in 1982, the Trust says, there are still significant remains of the Mary Rose still buried in the seabed. Mary Rose Trust

The Mary Rose served for 34 years before she sank, a line on the same Trust page says, under the heading “The Mary Rose: 1511-1545”. Mary Rose Trust

Even though she was quite an old ship, having been built 34 years earlier in 1510, the Trust says, Henry VIII was eager to have his favourite ship re-floated. Mary Rose Trust

The original plan had been to raise the Mary Rose on 3 August 1545, 15 days after her loss. She had sunk in reasonably shallow water, with her masts protruding above sea level. Mary Rose Trust

Venetian salvage operators planned to run cables under the hull, pulled taut by two larger vessels, the Sampson and the Jesus of Lübeck. The Trust notes that the Swedish Vasa was later raised using this technique. Mary Rose Trust

By 9 August, all that had been achieved was the snapping of the Mary Rose’s masts. After six more days of effort, they had still failed to move her. Mary Rose Trust

Work on the Mary Rose concluded in 1552, and the wreck was finally abandoned. It would not be until 10 June 1836 that the Mary Rose would be seen again by human eyes, the Trust says. Mary Rose Trust

Italian salvage diver Piero Paola Corsi was paid to recover guns from the Mary Rose. His salvage dive team was led by Jacques Francis, a Guinean diver who worked for Corsi. Mary Rose Trust

On 11 October 1982 the hull was lifted on a supporting steel cradle. After it was raised, the ship was covered in water-saturated foam and sprayed with seawater to keep the timbers from drying out. Mary Rose Trust

Without spraying, the Trust says, the wood could have shrunk by anything up to 50%. Mary Rose Trust

The part recovered, the starboard side, had been protected by a blanket of organic rich silts on the seabed. Mary Rose Trust

Polyethylene glycol treatments (PEG) were chosen to stabilise the ship. PEG was selected because of the success of this resin in the historic treatment of waterlogged wood, including the treatment of the Vasa, the 17th-century Swedish warship. Mary Rose Trust

The ship could not be submerged in PEG, so it was sprayed instead. Phase one began on 30 September 1994 and continued until 2003, with a low molecular weight PEG. Phase two, from 2004 to 2013, used a higher molecular weight PEG. Mary Rose Trust

In 2013 the ship carefully began to be dried in a giant ‘hot box’. It is estimated that over 100 tonnes of water were removed between 2013 and 2016. By May 2016, the ship had dried enough to allow the drying ducts to be removed. Mary Rose Trust

From 2016 to the present day, the ship has been kept in an environment of 55% relative humidity and 19º Celcius, the Trust says. Mary Rose Trust

Royal Museums Greenwich says the Mary Rose was a warship built in Portsmouth for King Henry VIII. It sank in 1545 and was recovered in 1981, with many artefacts still on board. Royal Museums Greenwich

That page also says the Mary Rose was built between 1509 and 1511, and rebuilt in 1536, and was Henry’s favourite ship. Royal Museums Greenwich

It is thought, Greenwich says, that the Mary Rose was named after Henry’s sister, Mary. The second part of the name is most likely a reference to the Tudor emblem. The same page says the ship was raised from the seabed in 1982. Royal Museums Greenwich

On 19 July 1545, while Henry VIII watched, the Mary Rose sank very quickly in the Solent, between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. Royal Museums Greenwich

Greenwich says 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. Around 700 of her crew, including the captain, Sir George Carew, drowned. Only about 30 men were rescued. Royal Museums Greenwich

No one is sure exactly why the Mary Rose capsized, Greenwich says. We know that it was very overloaded, carrying 700 rather than the 400 crew it was built to carry. Once the ship began to tip to one side, after turning sharply, seawater poured in the gunports. Royal Museums Greenwich

Almost as soon as the Mary Rose sank, Greenwich says, people tried to lift it, but they could only manage to raise the masts. Royal Museums Greenwich

The Mary Rose lay on the seabed for over 400 years. Then in 1971, archaeologists diving in the area where it sank discovered the wreck. In 1982 it was lifted up from the bottom of the sea. Royal Museums Greenwich

The Solent mud helped to preserve many of the items on board — as many as 19,000 artefacts have since been recovered. They are now on display in a special museum at Portsmouth, run by the Mary Rose Trust. Royal Museums Greenwich

The Mary Rose, Britannica says, was an English warship commissioned during Henry VIII’s reign that often served as the flagship of the fleet. It was built in Portsmouth, England, between 1509 and 1511 and served in the Royal Navy until it was sunk in 1545 during the Battle of the Solent. The wreck was raised in 1982 and later put on display. Britannica

The inspiration for the ship’s name is uncertain, Britannica says. Most agree that Rose is a reference to the Tudor rose. The inspiration for Mary is debated: some believe it refers to Henry VIII’s favorite sister, Mary Tudor; others assert that the ship was named for the Virgin Mary. Britannica

Also uncertain are the dimensions of the Mary Rose, which was of the carrack type. Sources give lengths that range from 110 feet (34 metres) to 148 feet (45 metres) and an initial weight of up to 600 tons. The vessel carried 60–80 guns and had a crew of 400–500 men. Britannica

According to an eyewitness account, after firing at the French fleet, the Mary Rose was attempting to turn when it was blown onto its side by a gust of wind. The cannon openings had not been closed, causing the ship to fill with water and sink. Historians, however, disagree as to what caused the Mary Rose to initially roll onto its side. Nearly all of the crew died. Britannica

The Mary Rose sank in about 40 feet (12 metres) of water, and almost immediately attempts were made to raise the vessel. Those efforts proved unsuccessful. Britannica

In 1836, divers recovered a cannon and other guns, but the wreckage was soon forgotten. Britannica

In 1965 the ship was believed to have been found, lying on its starboard side and buried under grey clay. It was not until 1971 that the vessel was positively identified. Thereafter some 19,000 artifacts were recovered. Britannica

On 11 October 1982 the ship was raised from the seafloor. Although the starboard was relatively well preserved by mud and clay, the exposed port side was gone. After major conservation work, the vessel went on display in 2013 at the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth. Britannica