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Raising of the
Mary Rose
Submerged for more than four centuries, the Mary Rose lay in 40ft of sea water over a mile from Southsea Castle. At longitude 01 degrees 06' 10'' west, latitude 50 degrees 45' 48'', divers discovered a time capsule of Tudor life encased inside Henry's magnificent warship and in the surrounding mud and silt. The French say they sunk the Mary Rose but historians believe there was some gross mismanagement in the handling of the sails by the crew, causing the ship to heel suddenly. Sailors and soldiers tumbled down and it is possible guns broke and hurtled across the decks. The sudden shift of weight put the lowermost gunports under the sea and water flooded into Henry VIII's glorious warship.
Hundreds of men, including the new Vice Admiral Sir George Carew and the Mary Rose's captain Roger Grenville, drowned. Some were trapped below, others were thrown into the sea, others were presumed to be trapped in the rigging, while those wearing armour would have sunk like stones. Only 35 to 40 men are believed to have survived. Not many could swim in those days. The cries of the drowning men and the shouts from swimmers, hoping to be picked up, are said to have been heard by the King as he watched the events from Southsea Castle. Mary, wife of Vice Admiral Sir George Carew, was standing near the King, watching the magnificent vessel with her husband on board when disaster struck. Lady Carew collapsed after the sinking and was comforted by the King in person. All that remained visible of
the ship were two top masts among the floating
bodies and the rescue boats. |
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