"[8]
Another ship of some note built at the instance of Henry VIII.
was the Mary Rose, of the portage of 500 tons. We find her in
the "pond at Deptford" in 1515. Seven years later, in the
thirtieth year of Henry VIII.'s reign, she was sent to sea, with
five other English ships of war, to protect such commerce as then
existed from the depredations of the French and Scotch pirates.
The Mary Rose was sent many years later (in 1544) with the
English fleet to the coast of France, but returned with the rest
of the fleet to Portsmouth without entering into any engagement.
While laid at anchor, not far from the place where the Royal
George afterwards went down, and the ship was under repair, her
gun-ports being very low when she was laid over, "the shipp
turned, the water entered, and sodainly she sanke."
What was to be done? There were no English engineers or workmen
who could raise the ship. Accordingly, Henry VIII. sent to
Venice for assistance, and when the men arrived, Pietro de
Andreas was dispatched with the Venetian marines and carpenters
to raise the Mary Rose. Sixty English mariners were appointed to
attend upon them. The Venetians were then the skilled "heads,"
the English were only the "hands." Nevertheless they failed with
all their efforts; and it was not until the year 1836 that Mr.
Dean, the engineer, succeeded in raising not only the Royal
George, but the Mary Rose, and cleared the roadstead at
Portsmouth of the remains of the sunken ships.
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