The HMS Mary Rose sank in the Solent as it turned to join battle with a French fleet and very promptly sank. They trued to salvage it, which should have been possible, but failed up and gave up. Only half had survived under the mud when it was raised in the 20th century and it took years to treat everything to avoid it disintegrating. This was our first visit after it had been dried and the museum reopened. It is a celebration of leather. Some photos help show this.
THE PURSER’S BELONGINGS
1-7 The Purser had a second chest. In it he kept a pair of leather ankle boots [1], a knitted garment [2], a wooden comb [3] and a knife [4]. There was also a small square wooden plate [5], a leather drinking flask [6] and his bowl [7], marked on its base with the number ’18’.
A beautiful leather bottle
Various leather items used by Archers
Modern warship nearby, no bows & arrows in sight
A Shoe from the Mary Rose. The construction of footwear advanced around this time and the big collection found has helped understand this. Indeed the whole fact that this was a ship loaded with ordinary people has given a whole new perspective to understanding how leather was used and worn at the time. Most of what we have otherwise is from royalty and nobility.
We had visited a few years earlier with the Archeological Leather Grouo and look at the conservation side. For dewatering Bavon D – remember Hodgsons and Roy Kittner – of the work of Stanley Briggs at Leeds. This was a dicarboxilic acid and it did an excellent job. No longer available sadly. The amount of leather drinking vessels, archers equipment, games etc in the store amazed us. Many PhDs there.