She may be five centuries old, but even King Henry VIII’s favourite warship has to comply with 21st Century legislation.
As the Mary Rose prepares to take her place in a stunning and unique multi-million pound new museum in her home port of Portsmouth, regional commercial property consultancy Hughes Ellard has been called into carry out the leasehold valuation of the building.
Roger Sherliker, head of valuation at the 22-strong firm, which has offices in Southampton and Fareham, was appointed by the Mary Rose Trust, the charity which preserves the ship, because of his expertise in market-value reports required by Section 36 of Charities Act 1993.
Believed to have been named after the Tudor king’s beloved sister, Mary Rose suddenly sank in The Solent in July 1545 while attacking French galleys.
Henry VIII looked on in dismay from Southsea Castle as the ship foundered. No more than 35 men out of over 500 survived; many were trapped by anti-boarding netting.
Discovered in 1971, the Mary Rose hull was raised in 1982 amid worldwide media interest – it was and still is the world’s largest underwater excavation of its kind.
Since then, three decades of intricate conservation and preserving sprays have ensured Henry VIII’s flagship is preserved for posterity, along with more than 19,000 well-preserved artefacts, from bronze cannons and leather shoes to longbows and nitcombs.
The museum’s opening date to the public is Friday, May 31.
Roger, who works out of Hughes Ellard’s head office in Fareham, said: “Never in my wilder dreams did I anticipate being involved professionally for this most enduring of British warship stories, which has captured the public’s imagination.
“Given the nature of the subject, the valuation was an unusual one, not least because Mary Rose sits on a Grade 1-listed dry-dock, with one floor below ground level, one at ground level and one at the roof level of the new museum.
“We are obliged by commercial confidence not to disclose valuation details, suffice to say it is not a king’s ransom.”
Robert Lapraik, Deputy Chief Executive of the Mary Rose Trust, said: “We’re grateful to Hughes Ellard for its professional expertise – we are all very excited about having Mary Rose and her wonderful collection of artefacts reunited under one roof to tell the stories of life and death in Tudor times.”
The Heritage Lottery Fund awarded the Mary Rose Trust a £23m grant, with the reminder achieved through the Trust’s own fundraising activities, sponsors and charitable trusts.
Mystery surrounds Mary Rose’s sinking to this day.
She was possibly toppled by open gunports, with unsecured cannons, other ordnance and helpless crew careering to one side as water gushed in.
A report at the time said the sinking was caused by “to much foly … for she was laden with much ordinaunce, and the portes left open, which were low, & the great ordinaunce unbreached, so that when the ship should turne, the water entered, and sodainly she sanke”.
The valuation is the latest for Hughes Ellard, a specialist in valuing charity-owned property in the region.
