Protecting the Mary Rose
School of Physical Sciences: Professor Alan Chadwick, Professor Bob Newport
Timber ships that have been raised from the seabed are prone to erosion when they come into contact with the air. However, when the Mary Rose was raised from the seabed after half a millennium, she was protected by pioneering techniques developed at Kent. Led by Alan Chadwick, alongside Bob Newport, the research involved the discovery of a compound to treat the ship’s wood and to prevent the deposits of sulphur salts on its surface.
Now exhibited in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, the Mary Rose is one of the most important additions to UK culture in recent times – as a warship, she served in Henry VIII’s navy for 34 years, and sank while engaging the French navy in 1545.
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