Mary Rose’s crowning glory finally sees the light of day again
THE emblem that once adorned the illfated Tudor war ship the Mary Rose is to see the light of day for the first time in nearly 500 years.
The Tudor rose that once graced the pride of Henry VIII’s navy is to go on display to the public for the first time. The emblem, the earliest surviving figurehead of its kind, shows the carved Tudor rose, which would once have blazed gloriously with coloured paint.
The figurehead was little more than a nondescript piece of wood when it was salvaged from the seabed, but it has since been subjected to a decadelong conservation project to restore it to some of its former glory.
The find has been described as “tremendously exciting”, and is the culmination of 33 years of restoration work since surviving parts of the ship were raised to the surface in Portsmouth. Since then, divers have kept a careful watch on the site, with currents uncovering more artefacts over the years.
In 2003, the Ministry of Defence funded three years of further excavations to the area, allowing divers to search for the bowcastle, stem and anchor of the ship.
As they completed their mission, preparing to lift the items to join the rest of the ship on dry land, they spotted another piece of wood, around four foot long and “shaped like a lollipop”.
Loathe to leave anything behind, the wood was salvaged, going into a water tank at the Mary Rose Museum without further exploration.
More than a decade on, after a lengthy process of scientific investigation, it has now been properly identified as the ship’s emblem. A digital reconstruction shows how the red petals would have adorned the still-visible carving of a rudimentary flower.
Comparison with the Anthony Roll, the only detailed surviving contemporary depiction of the ship, which sank in the Solent in 1545, shows it would have been mounted on the forecastle, showing the Tudor emblem off to the world.
The emblem will go on display at the revamped Mary Rose museum, where the public will be able to see the most complete restoration of the ship so far.
“It’s the best view of the ship we have ever had,” said Alex Hildred, head of research at the Mary Rose Trust.
Dr Hildred, who was one of the first divers to explore the wreck in 1971, was also present when the emblem was spotted on the seabed. She has overseen the restoration and identification process, alongside researchers from the University of Portsmouth.
Experts have used laser scanning, oblique light photography, computer modelling and 3D rendering to identify and confirm the rose image.
Carved on both sides and eroded from nearly 500 years underwater, the emblem will be accompanied on display by a digital colour reconstruction to fill in any gaps in visitors’ imaginations.
The Mary Rose Museum will reopen to the public tomorrow in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.