The History of the Mary Rose- Page 3 of 16
The case for the ship being built in Portsmouth relies on several documents in the State Papers. In 1510, money was sent to Brygandine for the repair of the Sovereign in Portsmouth dock and the making of the Regent. Money was also paid to him for the 'same' for the Mary Rose and the Peter Pomegranate, two new barks and two new rowbarges, during a period from 29/7/1510 to 20/9/1511. A further letter sent by Brygandine to Palshide concerns money received for the 'new making' of the Mary Rose and the Peter Pomegranate.(7) While not directly stating that these two ships were built in Portsmouth, the coupling of the repair of the Sovereign in Portsmouth with the 'new making' of the Mary Rose is rather suggestive.
Perhaps the strongest evidence for the Mary Rose being built in Portsmouth comes from John Duance's Accounts,(8) produced in 1514. In these, there is a payment of £120 to Robert Brygandine for conveying the Mary Rose and Peter Pomegranate from Portsmouth to the Thames. This account dates from 29/7/1511. There is another payment to Brygandine...
for the wages and victualling of the masters, mariners and soldiers, unto 26 Sept. 3 Hen. VIII., in the Mary Rose and the Peter Granade, during their conveyance from Portsmouth to the Thames, £8 2s. 2d. Also to the said Robt. Brygandyne for 35 coats of white and green for the above mentioned master and 34 of his company at 6s. 8d. a coat.
There is a further payment to...
Richard Palshidde one of the King's customers at Southampton, for 24 coats of white and green for 24 soldiers, employed for the safe conduct of The Mary Rose from Portsmouth to the "Temmys of London," and six similar coats of white and green for the master, 4 for the quartermasters and boatswain, at 6s. 10d. a coat; the wages of the said 24 soldiers for a month and a half, at 5s. a man per month; the reward of the said Rich. Palshidde for his attendance on the ship, 40s., and John Clarke, master of the said ship, 20s.
Although the evidence available does not conclusively prove that the Mary Rose was built in either Southampton or Portsmouth, I believe that what little there is leans heavily in the direction of the latter city.
There has been some confusion regarding the construction date and even the actual existence of the Mary Rose. At least two recent histories of the Tudor period attribute the name Mary Rose to the Great Galley, launched at Woolwich in 1515. Even Oppenheim in his "Administration of the Royal Navy, Vol 1, 1509-1660" states that the name Mary Rose may have been applied to various ships at various times, the same applying to the Great Galley. These myths were originally contradicted by R.C. Anderson in Mariner's Mirror, Vol.6, in an article titled "Henry VIII's Great Galley"...
"It seems to me quite impossible that the Great Galley could have been the same ship as the Mary Rose, as is suggested to some extent by Mr Oppenheim and apparently accepted by Mr Williamson (Blackwoods 1914, p.211). The two ships occur together in various lists quite often enough to disprove this idea".
The Mary Rose is believed to have been named after the King's favourite sister, Mary, and the Tudor emblem, the Rose. Once in the Thames she was fitted out and equipped with her ordnance. There is a payment to...
Cornelius Johnson, gunmaker, towards new stocking and repairing divers pieces of ordnance in the king's ships now in the Thames, viz., The Mary and John, The Anne of London, The Mary Rose and The Peter Granade, £20. To the same, for eight loads of elm for stocking the said ordnance, at 4s. the load.
There is a further payment of £37 2s. 6d. to Johnson for similar work, and another of £66 13s. 4d to Thomas Sperte, master and David Boner, purser of the Mary Rose, for decking and rigging her.
A considerable amount of money was spent on equipping the King's new ships with flags, banners and streamers, as shown in a bill of the 17th December 1511...
To Willm. Botyre, of London, mercer, upon a bill signed by Sir Edward Howard for tukes, bokerams, Brussels cloth and chamletes, to make streamers and banners for The Mary Rose and The Peter Pounde Garnade, £50 19s. 2d. To John Browne, of London, painter, upon a book of parcels signed by Sir Edward Howard, for painting and staining banners and streamers for the same, £142 4s. 6d.
While this may seem a very large amount of money for decoration these ships were the pride of the fleet, with the Mary Rose intended to be the flagship.(9)
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