Henry VIII’s flagship Mary Rose is remembered in Ryde

Wightlink’s FastCat passengers crossing the Solent this summer will be able to learn more about Henry VIII’s flagship Mary Rose from displays at Ryde Pier Head.

Information about the Tudor ship – one of the leading attractions at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard – will be available near the ticket office, more than 35 years after she was dramatically raised from the seabed off Southsea.

A waiting area at Ryde Pier Head will be devoted to images of the vessel and the unique artefacts on display at the new-look experience in Portsmouth, where visitors can step into Tudor times and immerse themselves in the sights, sounds and smells of Henry’s England.

In the first year after The Mary Rose re-opened to visitors in 2016, the ship and museum welcomed more than 380,000 people. On TripAdvisor, 94 per cent of reviews describe the attraction as excellent or very good and it is the most popular Portsmouth attraction on the website.

“The Mary Rose is Portsmouth’s iconic ‘must see’ for every visitor to the city, and we are delighted to promote the ship and its treasures to our customers,” says Wightlink Chief Executive Keith Greenfield. “We will never forget the tremendous achievement in 1982 to lift her ancient timbers from the seabed and display them at the dockyard. Every day Wightlink’s ships sail near the site where she tragically sank, which is marked by a buoy.”

“We are so pleased to be working with Wightlink to show their customers the truly immersive nature of our attraction,” says Mary Rose CEO Helen Bonser-Wilton.

Pictured: Wightlink staff Dave Prangnell, Shahnaz Akthar and Mike McHale on Ryde Pier

For more information, please contact Karen Woods on 07775 694266 or [email protected].