The Mary Rose Museum and Ship Hall have been open to the visiting public since the early 1980s and have welcomed in the region of 6 million visitors.

The Mary Rose Trust currently relies on income from these visits to fund the conservation of the Mary Rose hull and collection. The Heritage Lottery Fund announced the awarding of a £4.1 million grant in 2002 to complete the second phase of conservation for the hull, due to be finished in 2008.

The challenge remains, however, to secure funding to match the Heritage Lottery Fund's generous award and to raise enough money to fund the building of a dedicated Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, perhaps as much as £20 million.

The Mary Rose Trust does not receive any regular grant-in-aid from the Government and relies on visitor income, sponsorship, fundraising and gifts in kind to maintain the essential conservation programme.

The Mary Rose is committed to staying in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. "The Mary Rose was built in Portsmouth and sank in Portsmouth - it is her natural home."

"We would dearly love to see a purpose built Mary Rose Museum in the Historic Dockyard co-locating the hull and collection, so visitors can see the whole story of the Mary Rose alongside 500 years of naval history with HMS Victory, HMS Warrior, the Royal Naval Museum, Action Stations and the modern navy all around us." explained a Mary Rose spokesperson.

The final resting place for the Mary Rose and her fascinating collection has taxed the museum world for many years, but hopes are high that a final site will soon be chosen and the vital work of fundraising and developing ideas can, at last, begin.

As Prince Charles, President of The Mary Rose Trust said in a recent Annual Report: "The challenge is to secure the long-term future of the Mary Rose and her unique collection. I, for one, will continue to support the Mary Rose.....and can only urge all concerned to face these challenging times with vigour and determination...."