Mary Rose Museum

Museum entrance seen in July 2008

Concept plan of the new Mary Rose Museum.

The Mary Rose Museum is a historical museum designed by architects Wilkinson Eyre and Pringle Brandon. The museum is located at Historical Dockyards in Portsmouth in the United Kingdom run by the Mary Rose Trust. The museum is dedicated to the 16th century Tudor navy warship Mary Rose as well as the historical context in which she was active. The museum opened in 1984 and displays artefacts from the ship as well as the ship itself in a dedicated ship hall while it has been undergoing conservation. In September 2009 the ship hall was closed to allow the start of construction of a new museum that will open sometime in 2012. The museum containing displays of artifacts and the history of the ship remains open until then. The complete conservation of the Mary Rose will be finished in 2016, when she will be fully integrated with the new museum environment.

History

A £20 million appeal for funds for The Final Voyage - the co-location of the hull of the Mary Rose with her artifacts in a new museum - was launched locally in Portsmouth on the evening of 10 March 2006. Leading local businesses, members of Portsmouth City Council and the Lord Mayor attended presentations in the current museum. Intended to attract 500,000 visitors and opening by 2012 (with spraying of the hull intended to be complete around 2009/10), this new co-located museum will create a world-leading museum in Portsmouth for the Mary Rose and the Tudor Navy, an international centre for maritime archaeology and provide better facilities for education and outreach. This was originally denied a Heritage Lottery Fund grant in 2006.^[1] The Mary Rose Ship Hall closed its doors on the 20th September 2009, so that construction can begin on the new museum. The current museum will remain open until the new one is complete.^[2]

References

1. ^ V&A gets £9.7m lottery grant to shift galleries Guardian, 27 July 2006
2. ^ http://www.facebook.com/MaryRose500, post made 3rd August 2009

External links

• Official museum website
• Timelapse video of the construction of the new museum

Coordinates: 50°47′58″N 1°06′27″W / 50.7995°N 1.1074°W / 50.7995; -1.1074