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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

The Mary Rose is a large part of our lives, and we want to share that with you, no matter where you are. And maybe one day, when you have the opportunity, you might come and see us for real. maryrose.org

maryrose.org

The Mary Rose - Mary Rose

Mary Rose Museum, home to the flagship of Henry VIII and the largest collection of Tudor artefacts in the world.

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

We want you to enjoy exploring the stories of the men who lived, fought and ultimately lost their lives on board this wonderful ship that sat on the seabed for 437 years until it was rediscovered, raised, conserved and brought to life by an amazing team of people.

The faces of the crew of the Mary Rose, based on facial reconstructions and genetic analysis

Volunteers with an original arrow recovered from the Mary Rose in a protective case.

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

While we love welcoming you to our museum, we know that it's not possible for everyone to come and see our wonderful exhibition. That's why we try to make sure that you can at least get a taste of the experience through our online offerings, be they our blog, or our social media posts.

The Mary Rose, on display in the Weston Ship Hall at the Mary Rose Museum

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

POV: You enter the Mary Rose Museum expecting to see "just a bit of old wood" #ShipPicSaturday

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Reposted by The Mary Rose Museum

The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Thought the Mary Rose sank first time out? Think again...

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Thought the Mary Rose sank first time out? Think again...

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Reposted by The Mary Rose Museum

The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

Not sure what we like more about this scabbard chape; ➡️ The little heart cut-out that would have been handy back at Valentines day. ➡️ The way he looks like a bearded king going "Ooooooh!" ➡️ That it was found in 2004, 22 years after the rest of the Mary Rose.

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

The raising was indeed broadcast live on a weekday - it had been delayed by a day, and luckily the entire BBC1 schedule was pushed over to BBC2 so they could cover it!

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

It certainly was the star of the mid-2000s dives, which is impressive considering we also brought up the stem post and an anchor!

The emblem of the Mary Rose, on display next to the ship she represented 500 years ago.

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

A scabbard chape is that cap that goes on the end of a scabbard, for those wondering. We don't usually use the technical term, but we've been a bit silly recently, so we thought we'd reward the people who take this stuff seriously. maryrose.org/discover/col...

A diagram from Wikimedia commons of the various parts of a sword, most pertinently showing a scabbard with a chape at the tip.

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

TOMORROW AT THE MARY ROSE MUSEUM! 🪢 Luck, knots, and sailor superstitions.🪢 Thursday 9th Apr 2026 | 10:00 am – 3:00 pm Inspired by objects recovered from the Mary Rose, create your own macramé good luck charms in this free workshop courtesy of Downtown Pompey! maryrose.org/events/luck-...

maryrose.org

Luck, knots, and sailor superstitions. - Mary Rose

Create your own macramé good luck charms and leave your superstitions in our string archive.

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Incidentally, #MuseumSky, share your animal prints! The pawprints, rather than your patterned clothing - although feel free to share that too, if you like!

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

It seems our four-legged friends have been making their mark for a long time!

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Whichever gets in the way of you working, we're happy! We've got a long history of halting productivity in the workplace...

A screenshot of the live footage of the raising of the Mary Rose from October 1982.

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Incidentally, have you tried typing "dog" into google, then clicking on the pawprint that appears? Prepare to do no work for the rest of the day! share.google/pPgLmmWZPgS9...

share.google

Google Search - Dog

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Down in the galley of the Mary Rose, a tile with a dog's pawprint was found. We believe this was an accident - the tiles were left out to dry and a dog got into the yard, stepping on at least one tile. Still, no reason to waste a perfectly good tile, so it was used!

A terracotta tile, unglazed, with a clear impression of a dog's paw print, complete with the claw marks.

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

The Mary Rose has proven inspirational to many historians, but it turns out Henry VIII's favourite ship is the favourite of a few musicians too, who've produced their own tributes over the years! Discover more, and even listen to a few, in our latest blog! maryrose.org/songs-from-t...

maryrose.org

Songs from the Mary Rose

The Mary Rose has been an inspiration for musicians and songwriters for decades. In that time, there have been many tracks on vinyl and CD.

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Why not just use the original materials? We want you to know what's real. If you replace like for like, it makes telling what's a replica and what's exceptionally preserved very difficult. This way, you appreciate what was found a lot more, rather than having to figure out if something is real.

A wooden stool, recovered from the Mary Rose, still held together by the original nails.

an incredible detailed knife sheaf, featuring a crown flanked by two roses, a two headed bird and what might be a lion in a different orientation to the rest. It looks like it was made yesterday, but spent 437 years on the seabed.

Rosary beads recovered from the Mary Rose, on a modern thread and mounted on an acrylic stand, but looking like it's only a few years old. We have replicas in worse chape than this.

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Last week we made a joke about replacing half of the ship with KitKats, but when we do replace missing parts, we tend to stick to frosted acrylic, which allows us to show what an object may have looked like before it was damaged.

A frosted acrylic outline of a pouch, hanging from a real brass belt hanger recovered from the Mary Rose. Next to it is another without the pouch.

A bronze culverin sitting on a clear acrylic gun carriage. We do have to original, but it's not in great condition, and this allows you to get a better idea of how it was assembled.

A small fragment of a glass stem and bowl, with an outline of how it may have appeared when in use. It honestly looks a LOT like a sundae glass, but it was probably used for wine rather than ice cream...

A halberd, a staff weapon with replacement bladed/spiked head based on known examples from the period. Usually the wood goes and leaves the iron heads, but iron doesn't enjoy being exposed to seawater.

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

maryrose.org

Songs from the Mary Rose

The Mary Rose has been an inspiration for musicians and songwriters for decades. In that time, there have been many tracks on vinyl and CD.

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

Full of chocolate? Have a look at this picture of the Mary Rose. It won't help you feel less full, but at least you've seen a picture of the Mary Rose.

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

Happy Easter! This leather pouch, recovered from the Mary Rose, features an amazingly well preserved monogram depicting the letters IhS, embroidered in silver thread. This is almost certainly the Sacred Monogram, representing the name of Jesus Christ.

A closeup of the letters I, H and S, embroidered in silver thread on a leather background.

The leather pouch, showing the IHS monogram, a decorative pattern around it and the loops on the back that allowed it to be attached to a belt.

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

Today is the Boat Race, the competition between Oxford and Cambridge universities where teams of rowers race down the river Thames, but on 21st March, 1513, the Mary Rose took part in a race around the Kent coast, in which her performance lead her to being described as "the noblest ship of sail"...

maryrose.org

The Mary Rose – Racing Yacht? - Mary Rose

The Mary Rose is often thought of as being unstable, yet in 1513, she took part in a race around the Kent coast.

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

If they ever fancy coming down to Portsmouth...

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

EASTER AT THE MARY ROSE MUSEUM! This week: 👩‍🍳 Meet the Tudor cook 6th - 8th, 10th April | 1130, 1230, 1330 and 1415 🥄 Spoon making and optional egg decorating 6th - 8th, 10th April | 1100 to 1500 maryrose.org/events/scene...

maryrose.org

Scenes from a Tudor City: Easter - Mary Rose

This Easter, discover what the Tudors liked to cook and eat, what food they could find and how healthy it was compared to our 2026 diet!

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Come and see history in action this Thursday and Friday with our Fiddle Loom demonstrations at the museum, 11am to 3pm! maryrose.org/events/scene...

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

Other religious items found on the Mary Rose include prayer books, pendants and icons, and even paternosters - the latter being unexpected on one of the kings ships after prayer by rote had been outlawed. Guess some of the Mary Rose’s crew were people of habit...

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

This wristguard, belonging to one of the bowmen of the Mary Rose, features several overlapping depictions of the crucifixion of Christ, with his mother Mary and his disciple John at the foot of the cross.

A reddish-brown wristguard, with horizontal stripes and a number of embossed images of the crucifixion.

A closeup of the imprints on the wristguard

A line drawing of the embossed image, showing the crucifixion.

Not sure why there seems to be a happy crab above Jesus...

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Plus a sixteenth century shipwreck and all the amazing objects found on board! Plan your visit this Easter weekend - MaryRose.org/Visit

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

We are OPEN all four days of the Easter weekend, so if you'd rather not spend it watching the snooker, why not come and enjoy; 🐕 🔍 Hatch’s History Detectives trail! 🎥 🤿 Dive the Mary Rose 4D! 🏺 👈 Handle real and replica Tudor objects recovered from the seabed!

People sat in a cinema, watching footage 4D footage of the Mary Rose being raised.

Children looking at real and replica objects recovered from the Mary Rose

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Come and see history in action this Thursday and Friday with our Fiddle Loom demonstrations at the museum, 11am to 3pm! maryrose.org/events/scene...

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Come and see the fiddle loom in action in our “Men of the Lower Decks’ gallery, Thursday 2nd April & Friday 3rd April, 1100 to 1500 at the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard! maryrose.org/events/scene...

maryrose.org

Scenes from a Tudor City: Easter - Mary Rose

This Easter, discover what the Tudors liked to cook and eat, what food they could find and how healthy it was compared to our 2026 diet!

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Strops like these were then used to help move awkward or heavy items between decks or between smaller boats and the ship, acting as either a handhold or an attachment point for hooks.

Woven strops from the Mary Rose, made of hemp.

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

This crudely carved oak object, found in a cabin towards the bow of the Mary Rose, is a fiddle loom, and was used to weave sturdy strops for use onboard.

The fiddle loom is crudely carved from a single piece of oak. It stands 655mm high from the top of the head to the base of the body with a maximum width of 375mm. A triangular opening cut into the wedge-shaped top provides a handle. Nine vertical ‘slots’ cut into the body of the loom created ten vertical
‘slats’. Each slat features a drilled hole (six–seven mm diameter) positioned approximately at the midpoint of the slat’s height.

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

No, they were too busy looking for some necklace...

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Read the rest of the thread. There are enough myths about the Mary Rose, we don't need to be spreading any new ones!

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

So why the confusion? Well, Marie Rose Sauce did become popular in the late 70s/early 80s, thanks to TV cook Fanny Cradock using it frequently, and since the Mary Rose was in the news a lot during this period, it becomes clear that some people have just assumed that they were connected.

Fanny Cradock, an older lady with brown hair and a green, fur-lined housecoat.

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

We still have a few divers on our team who were around during this period, and not one of them has any recollection of this happening. While they did eat meals on board the dive vessel Sleipner (and, apparently, while still in the water!) they didn't invent a special sauce and call it Marie Rose.

A Mary rose Diver, in fully diving suit and still in the water, tucking into a sandwich on a plate.

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

We hope you haven't, because it's not true, despite what you may have been told by lists of "fascinating food facts"...

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Ever heard the story about how, during the excavation of the Mary Rose, the divers combined ketchup and mayonnaise and created Marie Rose sauce, which became internationally famous?

A crawfish cocktail with Marie Rose Sauce.

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The Mary Rose Museum @maryrosemuseum.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

That's why we have the maintenance cherry picker tracks running between the visitors and the ship.

The Mary Rose ship hall, with the ship on the left and the galleries on the right, behind glass.

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