Thursday 11 October 2007 marked the 25th anniversary of the lifting of the Mary Rose.

• Find out more on the National Historic Ships website
• View the Mary Rose record in the National Register of Historic Vessels

An impression of the Mary Rose, as she was in 1545, based on the evidence contained in the surviving structure of the hull. All images on this page are copyright of The Mary Rose Trust and are reproduced with kind permission.

The Mary Rose was launched in 1511 and served as a flagship in King Henry VIII's fleet. She was one of a new breed of purpose-built warships equipped with gunports, which enabled artillery broadsides to be fired.

The hull of the Mary Rose being raised, 11 October 1982, 437 years after she sank After a long and successful career, the Mary Rose sank on 19 July 1545 off Portsmouth, during an engagement with a French fleet which had attacked the English coast. The reason for the sinking is still a mystery, although many theories exist. Human error and indiscipline amongst the crew are possible explanations. Almost all of the men on board the Mary Rose drowned.

The hull in the Ship Hall, Portsmouth where she is now held After many years of excavation, the ship was finally raised from the sea-bed in 1982. The Solent mud which covered her preserved the hull and many artefacts.

Artefacts from the Mary Rose

Perishable items like leather and wood preserve well in waterlogged conditions. Because the Mary Rose lay covered by silt under the sea bed many objects survived. A selection of objects on loan from The Mary Rose Trust were on display at the National Maritime Museum in the Tudor room at the Queen's House until 22 January 2007 when they were returned to Portsmouth.

Leather shoes

A pair of 450 year-old shoes were found (the right shoe is shown below) – a good example of how well objects can survive under water. A cut was made at the end of the left shoe by its owner to ease pressure on his toe.

Syringe

Although most of the medical items were found in the Barber Surgeon's cabin of the Mary Rose, the syringe shown to the right was recovered from the orlop deck at the stern of the ship. Medicine jars, a bleeding bowl, razors and a shaving bowl were also found.

Linstock

A linstock was used to hold the lint or match which the gunner used to light the gunpowder in the touch hole of a cannon. These were the gunners' personal property and many spent time carving them. This one has a dragon's head with the jaw holding the match. The illustration demonstrates a gunner using the linstock.

Thimbles

Thimbles (below) were used by the crew to patch up their clothes while on board the ship.

Wooden bowl

Soldiers and sailors would have used tableware like the wooden bowl above, which were cheap to make. The bowl had been branded with a broad arrow to show it was the King's property, and this is still used on Government property today. The sailor who used the bowl has carved over it to personalize it, but if you look carefully you can still see where the arrow is.

Pepper mill

Pepper was used in food preparation but it was also believed to have medicinal properties, which included relieving flatulence! The mill shown on the right breaks up into three pieces.

The objects shown on this page are owned by The Mary Rose Trust, Portsmouth. The images are copright of The Mary Rose Trust and are reproduced with kind permission.