The Mary Rose as depicted in the Anthony Roll. It has the distinct carrack profile with high "castles" fore and aft. Although the number of guns and gun ports is not exact, it is an overall accurate illustration of the ship as it appeared in the 1540s.

The Mary Rose was a carrack in the English Tudor navy of King Henry VIII. She was launched in 1511 and served for 34 years in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany. After being substantially rebuilt in 1536, she saw her last action on 19 July 1545. She led the attack on the galleys of a French invasion fleet, but sank in the Solent, the strait north of the Isle of Wight.

The wreck of the Mary Rose was located in 1971 and was raised on 11 October 1982 by the Mary Rose Trust in one of the most complex and expensive maritime salvage projects in history. The surviving section of the ship and thousands of recovered artefacts are of great value as a Tudor period time capsule. The excavation and raising of the Mary Rose was a milestone in the field of maritime archaeology, comparable in complexity and cost to the raising of the 17th-century Swedish warship Vasa in 1961. The Mary Rose site is designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 by statutory instrument 1974/55. The wreck is a Protected Wreck managed by Historic England.

The finds include weapons, sailing equipment, naval supplies, and a wide array of objects used by the crew. Many of the artefacts are unique to the Mary Rose and have provided insights into topics ranging from naval warfare to the history of musical instruments. The remains of the hull have been on display at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard since the mid-1980s while undergoing restoration. An extensive collection of well-preserved artefacts is on display at the Mary Rose Museum, built to display the remains of the ship and its artefacts.

Mary Rose was one of the largest ships in the English navy through more than three decades of intermittent war, and she was one of the earliest examples of a purpose-built sailing warship. She was armed with new types of heavy guns that could fire through the recently invented gun-ports. She was substantially rebuilt in 1536 and was also one of the earliest ships that could fire a broadside, although the line of battle tactics had not yet been developed. Several theories have sought to explain the demise of the Mary Rose, based on historical records, knowledge of 16th-century shipbuilding, and modern experiments. The precise cause of her sinking is subject to conflicting testimonies and a lack of conclusive evidence. (Full article...)

Sir Ben Ainslie in 2020

Sir Charles Benedict Ainslie CBE (born 5 February 1977) is a British former competitive sailor. Ainslie is the most successful sailor in Olympic history. He won medals at five consecutive Olympics from 1996 onwards, including gold at the four consecutive Games (Sydney, Athens, Beijing & London) held between 2000 and 2012.

He is one of three athletes to win medals in five different Olympic Games in sailing, being the third person to win five Olympic medals in that sport (after Torben Grael and Robert Scheidt) and also the second to win four gold medals, after Paul Elvstrøm.

Ben is Team Principal, CEO and Skipper of INEOS Britannia.

After a decade of attempting to win the America's Cup for Britain, with little more than a sustainability design award for the now deserted HQ in Portsmouth in Portsmouth, Ben retired from sailing in 2024 to focus on his podcast and skin care range. Quoted by the BBC"I'm the CEO of both Emirates GBR and the Ineos Britannia America's Cup Team, I've got a few different business interests and most importantly I'm a husband and father, and at some point you've got to realise that you can't do everything." (Full article...)

• ... that Commander Samuel Sparshott, who testified at Lord Gambier's court-martial, and Admiral Edward Sparshott, who commanded the 52-gun HMS Winchester, were brothers who served in the Napoleonic Wars?
• ... that Winchester College football used to be played on top of a hill, with a line of boys on each side to keep the ball from rolling away?
• ... that Winchester United Church, a place of worship in the City of Winchester District, Hampshire, was built into the walls of the former county jail?
• ... that James Tissot is thought to have transgressed many Victorian sexual boundaries in his work, even setting a painting aboard the HMS Calcutta as a pun on a female subject's behind?
• ... that Walkelin, Bishop of Winchester, began the construction of the modern Winchester Cathedral in 1079?
• ... that the Theatre Royal, Southampton, which Jane Austen visited in 1807, was described in 2013 as having "morphed into a hideous high-rise"?