From the moment the Mary Rose broke free of The Solent in 1982, the Tudor warship has had to undergo 34 long years of conservation, ensuring that the fragile timbers could be protected for the future. The first Mary Rose Museum had a protective water then wax sprayed on the ship, but it made for a difficult visitor experience looking through the wet windows and mist. The new Mary Rose Museum had small windows looking out on the timbers that were intertwined with back ducting used in the final stage of preservation…but tomorrow, the ship is finally finished and the small viewing panels are now gone, replaced with huge floor-to-ceiling windows and a fantastic balcony, entered through an airlock.

“Visitors will have stunning panoramic views of the ship from all nine galleries. This is the culmination of decades of hard work by the Mary Rose team and we can’t wait to share this stunning new experience with everyone.” – Helen Bonser-Wilton, chief executive of the Mary Rose Trust

We closely followed the £39m new museum  from the public appeal through to when they first opened their doors to visitors in May 2013. We’ve really excited to see the ship back on public view to the public from tomorrow, in a way that will mean people can really appreciate the scale of this national treasure.

Dr Alex Hildred, head of research and curator of ordnance, who was among those who dived on the wreck in the 1970s and 80s said: “When we excavated the Mary Rose we wanted people to see even a little of what we, as archaeologists, saw and experienced underwater. The fact that you can see it from three different angles that you’ve never been able to see before, except for when she first came up, is brilliant.”

Find out more at: www.historicdockyard.co.uk

(Photos by Stephen Foote, Mary Rose Trust).