This lavishly produced book has
several stories to tell. The first relates the history of
the ship itself, from design and build to its tragic end.
Next is the story of the wreck and recovery. Then there is
an archaeological reconstruction of the decks and various
places of the ship, with a complete description of where
and what artifacts and bodies were found within the sunken
ship.
Having been unfamiliar with the
ship’s history prior to the sinking, I was surprised to
read the Mary Rose was part of a fleet that
attacked Boulogne, France, in 1512. Within a few years the
ship was placed in ordinary, meaning she was stripped of
masts, sails, and guns until the vessel was needed again.
In
1535 the Mary Rose was modernized. “Her bow and stern ends were
completely rebuilt,” (55) and the keel was lengthened to
support a vessel of 700-800 tons, an increase of 200-300
tons. Her hull and deck supports were also strengthened
before adding more cannons to her armament.
“In 1514, the Mary Rose had
five anti-ship guns, seven smaller ones, and many
anti-personnel weapons, whereas in 1545 she had twenty-six
anti-ship guns, 12 smaller guns, and fifty-three
anti-personnel guns.” (63) The addition of twenty-one
cannons weighing hundreds of pounds each and positioning
them throughout the ship drastically altered the ship’s
balance and increased her draft – making the hull sit
deeper in the water.
Tensions between England and France
flared up again in the 1540s. On July 19, 1545,
a French fleet sailed past the Isle of Wight and was
surprised to find the English fleet at anchor. The French
admiral ordered his galleys to launch an attack. The
Battle of the Solent had begun.
One of the anchored ships was the Mary
Rose. Her crew hurried to raise sails and prepare
for action. Once underway, the gunports were opened and
the cannons were loaded and run out.
As the Mary Rose neared the
galleys, a gust of wind caused the ship to heel further to
starboard. With only sixteen inches between the waterline
and the bottom of the gunports, the extra heeling action
caused ocean water to pour into the lower deck. The weight
of the water continued the unbalanced ship’s tilt and the
vessel capsized, sinking in minutes.
Within a year of the sinking, a
mostly unsuccessful attempt was made to salvage some of
the guns. In 1782 the Royal George sank nearby. In
1836 John Deane used a primitive diving bell to explore
that ship. He recorded the positions of the sunken Royal
George and the Mary Rose on a chart of the
area, which was tucked away along with other records of
the Royal Navy. A diving historian found the chart in 1966
and rediscovered the location of the Mary Rose.
The story of the ship’s recovery
includes careful planning from the first attempts to
locate the wreck through careful underwater examination
and documentation. Before they could recover the ship, the
British Parliament and royal family had to become
involved. The group of historians and archaeologists
studying the wreck also had to determine how to tell her
story. They founded the Mary Rose Trust to help
carry out their plan. In 2013 the Mary Rose Museum
opened to the public.
Six chapters of this book are
devoted to describing all the different decks and spaces
of the Mary Rose, including where every artifact
was found and what happened in the space during the ship’s
sinking. Along with that information, there is also a
description of where the remains of each person were found
and what the bones and artifacts present reveal about the
people, such as age and any signs of wear and tear from
the harsh life of a sailor.
Use of glossy paper enhances the
many color illustrations and diagrams found throughout the
book. A very readable text is enriched with end notes, a
bibliography, and two appendices, one on the ship’s
components and another on the locations and conditions of
crewmembers who went down with the vessel.
There is a wealth of knowledge in
this book from building wooden warships, early sea
battles, European history and archaeology to naval
administration and anatomy. Together they tell a
fascinating story of one special ship and the crew that
manned her.
Review Copyrighted ©2020 Irwin
Bryan
Click on the Cannon to Contact Me
Pirates
and Privateers
