MRT is involved in a £35 million project to fund the final conservation of the hull and to unite the Mary Rose and her incomparable collection of Tudor artefacts in one building - a stunning new museum. The focus is to capture the moment in time when she sank in July 1545 and bring to life the stories of those who sailed in her. It is planned to open the museum in spring 2012, in time for the London Olympics. • Capital funding for the museum is derived from two main sources. The Heritage Lottery Fund has ring-fenced a £21 million grant for the project. • The Mary Rose Appeal, launched in 2007, is raising £14 million; to date £10.2 million has been received in cash and pledges, leaving a current funding gap of £3.8 million. • Our Heritage Lottery Stage 2 Pass was achieved in June 2009. • Enabling works began in October and completed in May 2010. • We expect to award the main works contract in late May/early June. This project is already emerging from plans into reality and your donation counts enormously at this time. Please include Gift Aid where possible.
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Why is a new Museum needed? The Mary Rose Ship Hall and museum are separate and increasingly dilapidating buildings located 300 metres apart in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Both present specific problems to the future of the Mary Rose. The current Ship Hall This is based in and around Dry Dock No 3 housed approximately 100 metres from the original dock in which the Mary Rose was originally built. • The temporary structure was constructed in 1982 with a life span of 10 years and re-roofed in 1998. • It requires replacement in 2013, but the hull begins its drying process in 2011 and work on a replacement roof at that time, would place restrictions on the process. • The final stage of the hull conservation must be completed effectively. • The current visitor gallery requires repair and will close to visitors if health and safety standards cannot be met. By commencing the new museum build in 2009 with completion in 2012, these critical factors can be addressed in a cost effective way in one major project. This will minimise risk to the irreplaceable hull, reduce the length of the Ship Hall’s closure and reduce the negative impact on visitor revenue. The current museum This old wooden building has housed the museum since 1983. It has served its purpose well. However • The display cases can only accommodate 6% of the 19,000 artefacts. Currently there are a further 8,000 fully conserved artefacts retained in the “reserve collection”. • The new museum will enable these items to be displayed, and permit storage space for further artefacts which cannot progress through the conservation process (as there is nowhere to store them) and are currently at grave risk of deterioration and loss. Education development The existing teaching facilities are cramped and totally inadequate to handle current demands from schools and colleges: toilet facilities are in a separate building. The new museum building will increase the educational space 6-fold and quadruple the number of students we can accommodate. How you can support us: Sponsor one of the museum’s galleries. These stunning spaces will bring alive the stories of the Mary Rose and her crew with cannons, ammunition, rope, barrels and personal items placed as they would have been in 1545. You, or your company, can have a gallery named in recognition of your support Sponsor the equipment in the new Learning Suite. We need desks, seating, computers, projectors and other equipment to fit out our new multi-functional learning space and science laboratory. Your help in making this a state of the art facility for students of all ages will be recognised within the new Learning Suite Sponsor a specific Character Case. We shall be reconstructing key figures on board and re-unite them with their possessions. Supporting a character case will help tell bring alive the stories of the crew – the gun captain, pilot, barber surgeon, carpenter and archer – and illustrate how the professional and personal items found were used in daily life. Again, the cabinet would carry the name of the supporter. Become an Admiral or a Commodore of the Mary Rose. This exclusive club offers special benefits to members including invitations to special events and a guaranteed invitation to the opening of the new museum. Becoming an Admiral of the Mary Rose is recognised through the presentation of a magnificent replica of the Admiral’s sword found during the excavation of the ship. Join the New Crew of 500 and pledge to raise £500. Visit www.maryrose500.org for further details. this is open to indicviduals, groups, schools, companies, anyone who would like to be part of this amazing museum,