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Friday, 25 January 2008, 06:09 GMT

Mary Rose given £21m cash boost

Artist's impression of the museum The world's last surviving 16th Century warship has been awarded a £21m grant.

Henry VIII's flagship the Mary Rose, housed at Portsmouth's Historic Dockyard, was raised from the bottom of the Solent, in 1982.

Fears the national treasure would be sold for firewood if the funding bid failed clouded the 25th anniversary of the ship's raising last October.

The Heritage Lottery Fund grant will be used to complete its conservation and build a museum around the vessel.

The overall cost of the project will total £20.5m.

Over 19,000 artefacts recovered from the ship will be on display at the museum, which is currently a temporary structure.

Admiral John Lippiett, of the Mary Rose Trust, said: "[It] paves the way to complete the long conservation process and display the majority of amazing artefacts in a magnificent museum.

Mary Rose in dry dock pictured in 1985

"The learning facilities will be world class and able to meet the huge demand placed upon them by school children and students."

Dame Liz Forgan, chair of the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), said: "The Mary Rose is an amazing time-capsule and one of our most precious heritage icons."

The Mary Rose, which sank on 19 July 1545 is the only 16th Century warship in the world to be recovered and put on display.

In 2006, the trust's £13.5m Heritage Lottery Fund bid for the major upgrade of the museum failed.

More than 60 million people worldwide watched the hull of the ship being brought to the surface in 1982 after 437 years submerged in the Solent.

She is estimated to have generated more than £60m since 1982 as one of Portsmouth's major tourist attractions.

Meanwhile, the Victorian tea clipper the Cutty Sark, at Greenwich in south-east London, has been awarded £10m from the fund.

The ship was badly damaged by fire in dry dock part way through a £25m conservation project in May last year.




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Related to this story:
Historic ships handed £31m boost (25 Jan 08 |  UK )
Mary Rose 'at risk of being lost' (10 Oct 07 |  Hampshire )
Mary Rose museum plans unveiled (28 Mar 06 |  Hampshire )
Mary Rose weighs anchor at last (11 Oct 05 |  Hampshire )
Mary Rose fragments to be raised (21 Sep 05 |  Hampshire )
Mary Rose to get permanent home (10 Mar 05 |  Hampshire )

RELATED INTERNET LINKS
Mary Rose Trust
Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
BBC Hampshire - Mary Rose 25th anniversary
BBC History - Mary Rose
BBC History - Mary Rose virtual tour
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