It was my idea to visit Portsmouth. I’d wanted to see the Mary Rose, Henry Vlll’s flag ship for thirty years. We headed off at 7:30 on a lovely sunny Thursday morning.
Before leaving Gravesend we swung by to pick up my cousin Gillian’s son Stephen. Having foolishly retuned the spacious rental van we’d had for a week today’s trip was being undertaken in Gillian’s husband Geoff’s Vauxhall Astra. Gillian feeling six passengers would make the comfort level modest suddenly decided to give the trip a pass. I add at this point any discomfort only applied to the back seat, the two up front were quite comfortable. Once all were stuffed in the car Geoff turned on his trusty satellite navigation system which immediately declared a journey of just an hour and three quarters. Nobody was surprised when it turned out to be double that.
When we arrived in Portsmouth Geoff had a pretty good idea where we were and soon had us in a parkade next to the Gunwharf Quay district.
Portsmouth is a city of 204,000 located largely on the twenty four square kilometer Portsea Island. Like many large centres in England its history can be traced back to the Romans. There has been a naval port here for centuries and the city is home to the world’s oldest dry dock. Portsmouth was the nation’s first line of defence during the French invasion attempt of 1545, when the Mary Rose sank. In the 19th century Portsmouth was considered the world’s greatest port. During the Second World War and in spite of extensive damage during the Blitz the port was the main embarkation point for the D-Day Landings. In 1982 the forces sent to liberate the Falkland Islands were sent from here.
Gunwharf Quay is a new trendy development of shops, restaurants, bars and apartments built alongside the harbour front and a couple of canals. It was built on the site of HM Gunwharf which had a long history of the storing and the maintenance of the nation’s cannon, ammunition and other armaments. Alongside the shopping centre is the impressive 170 metre high Spinnaker Tower which is considered the centrepiece of the harbour. Erected in 2005 it is modelled after a ship’s sail billowing in the wind and it can be seen for miles. There are three observation decks at the top and if one is brave enough to step onto the open deck you can see for thirty seven kilometers.
First up after three hours in the car was a bathroom break. Then, a coffee in the cafe at the base of the tower overlooking the water seemed in order. From our table we looked out over the huge harbour, near us was a marina with dozens of moored personal power boats. Directly across the water was another marina filled with sailboats. Their many masts looked as thick as trees in a forest. During the time it took to enjoy our coffee a big grey naval ship with absolutely no windows other than on the bridge slowly passed by on its way in from the sea.
Once the coffee break was over we were ready to attack the day, but first we needed directions to Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard. Our waitress graciously pointed us in the right direction. Just along the promenade to the end of the first building and then straight down to an old archway that we couldn’t possibly miss. Then once on the other side of the archway turn left and follow your nose for a couple of blocks. There was a closer route but sensing our ineptitude she wisely directed us to the easiest route.
While the city remains home to Her Majesty’s Naval Base Portsmouth, one of only three in the UK it is also home to the sprawling Historic Dockyard which is adjacent to the base. This is where the Mary Rose Museum was to be found. Little did I know the extent of what else was to be experienced by the five of us this day.
The walking was easy and as long as the water was on our left there was little chance of getting lost. We weren’t really going to see much of Portsmouth but the little we did see was similar to most old cities in England. New buildings compassionately erected amongst and alongside centuries old ones. The English still seem keen on preserving buildings that still have life in them.
We were soon at the military guarded gate to the Dockyard and once passed through we started through the cattle line to purchase our admission tickets. While waiting in the long line I noticed the lady of the family of four in front of us was wearing a Canada Goose down parka manufactured in Winnipeg, Manitoba, my hometown. It was such an amazing coincidence that we struck up a conversation that lasted the twenty minutes it took to reach the ticket booth. Our little group opted for the all attraction passes rather than specific attractions. We were after all here for the day.
Over the course of the day we would wander onboard a couple of refitted naval ships on static display. HMS Warrior was afloat in the harbour and Nelson’s HMS Victory, due to its age was supported by a cradle on dry land. Both were incredible to explore.
The forty-gun HMS Warrior with steam power supplementing her sails was built over two years commencing in 1859 and would serve with the Channel Squadron. Warrior was made obsolete in 1871 after the launch of the UK’s first mast-less warship. Decommissioned in 1883 a career began as a stores and depot ship. In 1904 she was assigned to the Royal Navy’s Torpedo School but ignominy was to later follow. In 1927 a fifty two year career as an oil jetty began. Happily relief came in 1979 when she was donated to the Maritime Trust. An eight year restoration was undertaken. When completed in 1987 Warrior was returned to Portsmouth to begin serving as a museum ship. Today, while sections of the ship were under restoration we were still able to wander at will. Today HMS Warrior is outfitted with the small arms, heavy cannons and crew fittings you’d expect in a state of the art warship, though one 150 years old. We toured the ship for over an hour marvelling at the close conditions the crew of seven hundred spent their days in.
As we disembarked onto the jetty our collective hunger pangs were being made known. Fortunately the next building along contained a very nice restaurant. In addition to the restaurant it also housed a wooden boat building and repair service utilizing traditional carpentry methods on the main floor. The workshop was crowded with wooden craft in for repair or rebuilding and there were a number of new vessels being built. The smell of newly sawn wood was overpowering.
The eatery on the second level was accessed by an open walkway around the circumference of the building and was large enough to showcase displays of wooden boats. Looking down from the walkway I was struck at the young age of most of the workers banging away and chiselling with ancient wood working tools. It was plain to see the art of the wood boat building is still valued.
After a slow walk along the walkway while watching the activity below we reached the restaurant. Having been in England for over a week I’d had enough of fish and chips, unlike my companions. I ordered a cheese and cracker plate.
Refreshed and rested we continued directly on to what I’d been waiting for. The Mary Rose Museum and Exhibit was actually on the other side of Nelson’s HMS Victory but I couldn’t wait. I admit I threw my weight around to get my way.
The Mary Rose built in 1510 would be King Henry Vlll’s flagship. She served for thirty three years before sinking in 1545 while leading the battle on the Solent against the French. The Solent is the channel between the Isle of Wright and the English mainland, just outside Portsmouth Harbour. At the time of the sinking the ship was tacking with all gun ports open. When it heeled over seawater came roaring in and she quickly toppled and nearly five hundred were lost.
While it was always known where she’d floundered it wasn’t until 1971 that she was definitively found. With a great deal of public interest and support driven by the Prince of Wales the ship was raised in 1982. I remember watching the raising on television and had been interested in visiting and seeing her for myself ever since.
The Mary Rose was built with high castle structures in the bow and stern and a low open deck amidships. It’s been deduced that the keel was thirty two metres long and the deck was twelve meters wide with four decks above the holds. It’s known that a lower level of gun ports were cut in years after construction to increase her fire power. The additional weight of the guns and these lower gun ports being open when the ship tacked hard to starboard caused the water to pour in. Apparently poor King Henry was watching from a hill as his flag ship turtled.
Once raised the Mary Rose was immediately moved to a controlled environment where she was subjected to a constant soaking with water infused cellulose. This was done to ensure preservation of the wooden timbers. Back in 1982 it was considered thirty-five years would be needed to displace the seawater in the wood with the cellulose mixture. Luckily for us earlier this year the job was deemed completed and the Mary Rose was allowed to dry. Our viewing of the ship in its glass enclosure no longer needed to be through a mist of water.
The ship having lain on her side for centuries resulted in half the vessel being silted over. That which wasn’t protected by the silt eroded away but what was left is staggering to view. The remains while degraded present a cut away cross section from bow to stern. There are incredible numbers of artifacts displayed around the museum but the ship itself is what held my fascination. Just like my visit to Stonehenge on an earlier trip this visit was one of the things I’d wanted to experience for decades. It was well worth the wait.
Now that I’d seen what I’d come for we headed aboard Nelson’ ship who’s keel was laid in summer 1759. The name Victory was decided on a year later. One hundred and fifty men worked on the construction and six thousand trees were used, 90% of which were English oaks. In those days once a ship’s frame was completed it was left to season for a few months. England was then enjoying a rare period free of conflict so the Victory was allowed to season for three years. It is thought this extended seasoning impacted positively on the longevity of the ship.
When it came time to launch the ship it was discovered she was too large to pass through the dock gates. A crew of workers had to take up their adzes and hack nine and a half inches off the gates too allow the Mary Rose to pass through. Problems weren’t over yet, once afloat the one hundred and four gun Victory had a decided list to starboard. This was corrected by the careful placement of additional ballast stones.
The completed Victory weighed 3,500 tons, was 69 metres long, 16 wide and drew 9 metres of water when under sail. She served as Nelson’s flagship at Trafalgar in 1805 and was to remain in service until 1824 when she began serving as a harbour ship. Since 1922 Victory has been in dry-dock and on display at Portsmouth. The ship was originally held up by wooden beams but its massive weight caused the ship to sag in the centre past the danger point. She was shored up with twenty two massive steel plates to solve the problem. Like Warrior the Victory is in a constant state of restoration.
Also like Warrior we were allowed to wander all over the ship. On the rear deck is a brass plaque indicating the spot where Nelson was fatally shot by a soldier in the rigging of a French warship. For me the most striking thing was the low headroom throughout the ship. Clearly most sailors at the beginning of the 1800’s were not much taller than five foot six inches. After the Victory there was still more to see in the Historic Dockyard but we were all quite satisfied and decided to call it a day.
But before heading back to the car for the long drive home we wandered down a couple of streets. We were continuing my youngest brother’s ongoing quest to find what he considered to be a traditional English pea jacket. Before embarking on the holiday he was convinced he’d be tripping over opportunities to buy such a naval garment in a country with such strong naval traditions. He had especially strong expectations of success in Portsmouth, but he was proved wrong