The Mary Rose 500 Appeal

In 1545 Henry VIII's flagship The Mary Rose capsized and sank.

No accurate crew log was kept - no-one knows how many men were on board the Mary Rose. Her crew should have numbered about 400. But many more - at least 500 - packed her decks, ready to fight the approaching French fleet.

Only a handful were rescued.

500 years after Henry VIII came to the throne and commissioned the Mary Rose - his favourite ship - The Mary Rose 500 Appeal is recruiting a 500-strong New Crew.

This year sees the start of a new chapter in the Mary Rose story - the construction of a sensational new Mary Rose Museum uniting for the first time since 1545, the remains of the rose of Henry VIII's fleet and the possessions of her crew.

The museum will cost £35 million and will open in 2012 - 500 years after the Mary Rose was launched.

Most of this - thanks to an unprecedented Heritage Lottery Fund grant and a great many generous donations - has already been raised.

Now we are embarked on a final fundraising drive to achieve our ambitious goal; building the amazing new Mary Rose Museum, completing the conservation of the ship and her contents and presenting a unique snapshot of Tudor life to the visiting public.

Will you pledge to donate or fundraise on our behalf and become one of the new crew 500 and help ensure the only existing Tudor warship and the 19,000 fascinating artefacts recovered with her, survive to tell their fascinating story of Tudor life?

The Mary Rose 500 Appeal New Crew will raise £1 million to help make the new museum a reality.

Be part of the vision. Join the Mary Rose New Crew. Preserve Henry VIII's flagship for all time.

Join the Mary Rose 500 New Crew to help raise £250,000 for the 500 Appeal.

500 people - the symbolic ‘new crew' of the Mary Rose - each raising £500, will make a big difference to us.

£250,000 is needed this year to help bring us closer to achieving our vision of building a sensational new museum to house the treasures of the Mary Rose and the ship herself.

The 500 New Crew Challenge is all about having a go, challenging yourself and others to do something a little bit different, and having fun along the way.

Christine Jordan of Now That's Jive is doing just that by holding a 1940s Dance Night. She is raising £500 for the 500 Appeal. As a NEW CREW 500 member she will receive our fundraising support pack, regular campaign Crew Cuts newsletter and plenty of support from us.

You can come onboard as an individual, group, society, school, business or college and you don't have to raise all of your £500 in one go, you have a year to get there.

Once you have decided to join the new crew and help us fundraise, our appeals team is here to give you support and encouragement to help make your fundraising event or idea a great success. Once you have registered as a new crew member we will send you a support pack with ideas and information about the campaign and how you can fundraise on our behalf.

You can also support us by coming to one of our fundraising events or visiting the Mary Rose Museum at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

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