This famed Tudor ship was Henry VIII’s pet project, but why did his fleet’s flagship sink suddenly in the Solent?

WORDS ALEX HOSKINS

A s the last vestiges of the Mary Rose were consumed by the very sea it sought to conquer, the men who would sink to the bottom of the ocean with it couldn’t have known that they were to become part of one of the greatest archaeological sites of the Tudor period, preserved like no other for historians of the 20th century to marvel at and analyse for decades. This particular disaster, unexpected and perhaps entirely unnecessary, was rare – the loss of life may have seemed futile, but without it we might have a very different understanding of the Tudor period. But it’s not only for its immense bounty of historical artefacts that the Mary Rose has endured as one of England’s – and perhaps the world’s – most notable shipwrecks. It’s also, as ever, the mysteries surrounding its story that have seen it remain a point of fascination for history enthusiasts and experts alike. There’s plenty we can’t be sure of when we ask why the Mary Rose sank.

What we do know is that the Mary Rose was commissioned by Henry VIII as part of a new navy. He had inherited a rather measly fleet, setting about improving it for the many battles that lay ahead with sea ships known as carracks – the Mary Rose and another commission, Peter Pomegranate. Historians still debate exactly who the boat was named after – and if it was named after a person at all, as this was not the trend at the time. Popular belief often sides with Henry’s sister, Mary Tudor, while it’s generally considered more likely the name was a tribute to the Virgin Mary, known at the time as the ‘Mystic Rose’. This also chimes well with the naming of Peter Pomegranate, as the pomegranate is a symbol of resurrection and eternal life, often associated with Jesus. The fruit is even shown in the hand of Jesus in some depictions of the Madonna and Child. The pomegranate was also a symbol of the house of Aragon, which was certainly a consideration when Henry chose the name for the boat, as he was married to Catherine of Aragon. When they divorced, Henry renamed Peter Pomegranate as Peter.

However, the boat’s name is not the only source of mystery. The end of the Mary Rose came suddenly on 19 July 1545. Having survived a glittering career of three French wars from 1512 to 1545 – with rest and restoration in between – the Mary Rose was sunk dramatically in the Battle of the Solent, much to the surprise and delight of the French. It was a stacked battle, the French fleet numbering 128 ships, while Henry’s was just 80. But it was soon to be down one notable ship.

The French account of the battle tells that on the morning of the fateful 19 July, after two days of battle with no real loss to either side, French ships made an attempt to lure the English out of their relative safety in the Solent to come within closer range of the French galleys. The weather had been calm all day, and yet suddenly, the Mary Rose began to sink. If we look to the English records, the events played out differently: Henry VIII had been dining with Admiral Viscount Lisle on the fleet’s pride and joy, Henry Grace à Dieu, the night before the sinking. At dinner, Henry bestowed the Mary Rose upon George Carew, which, with the Mary Rose being the fleet’s second-largest vessel after Henry Grace à Dieu, promoted him to the heady heights of vice admiral of the fleet. Little could he or anyone else know, he would soon be in charge of a ship that was doomed to failure. Some accounts claim that Henry VIII looked on from Southsea Castle as the Mary Rose sank – we can only imagine today how it would feel to see the flagship of your fleet sink, without discernible reason.