That Sinking Feeling
The pride of Henry VIII's fleet, the Mary Rose sank in 1545 during a battle with a French invasion fleet. Well, first sank, anyway. It appears that a shortage of funding may sink it a second time, with conservation not even completed yet.
She was the pride of King Henry VIII's fleet, helping to repel the French and Italians before sinking off the south coast.
Now, 25 years after a nation rejoiced as she was raised from the seabed, the Mary Rose is again engaged in a battle for her survival.
The Mary Rose Trust is launching a renewed bid to secure £20 million of funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to preserve the ship and to keep its outdated museum open.
The campaign, fronted by the historian David Starkey, has attracted the support of the Prince of Wales and the actor Robert Hardy.
But supporters fear that the spiralling cost of the 2012 Olympics, and the resulting redirection of lottery money, will scupper their hopes.
If the bid is rejected - a fate that befell last year's effort to secure £13.5 million - the trust says that from 2011 it will be unable to afford to carry out vital treatment on the historic vessel and that it will have to close because of health and safety considerations.
"That there is even a question hanging over this is a national scandal," said Mr Starkey, who recorded a video about the ship last week that will be released next month.
Britain - and the world - stand to lose a unique treasure because of shortsighted policies and misplaced priorities. The conservation process involves spraying the ship with what amounts to a wax then drying it. But the final stages are now in jeopardy. (Wikipedia here with a description of the conservation method in use.)
By Lars Walker, Sunday, 13 May , 2007 @ 10:50 am
When you’re busy dismantling an entire civilization, the loss of one old artifact can hardly count for much.
By skh.pcola, Sunday, 13 May , 2007 @ 11:31 am
Good point, Lars. OT, sort of, but does anybody really watch the Olympics any longer? I quit watching them probably 20 years ago. It’s amazing how much money is squandered on those games.