These remarkable recordings, including underwater footage not seen for over 40 years, will be revealed to the public this weekend at a special event for visitors to The Mary Rose Museum at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard .
The ambitious project forms part of the partnership between the University and The Mary Rose Trust and followed three years of dedicated fundraising and the procurement of specialist, high-end equipment.
Charlie Watts , Associate Head of Global Engagement and Educational Partnerships at the University's School of Film, Media, and Creative Technologies , said he is very proud of what the team has achieved: "In many ways, this project has been a win for everyone involved. It has strengthened an already fruitful collaboration between the University of Portsmouth and the Mary Rose Trust, rescued irreplaceable historical images from increasingly vulnerable videotapes, and provided our students with invaluable hands-on experience of heritage preservation."
This project has rescued irreplaceable historical images from increasingly vulnerable videotapes, and provided our students with invaluable hands-on experience of heritage preservation."
Charlie Watts, Associate Head of Global Engagement and Educational Partnerships, School of Film, Media, and Creative Technologies
Students from the University of Portsmouth's BA (Hons) Film Production and Post-Production for Film and Television BA (Hons) courses joined the project workforce, gaining valuable experience while contributing to the preservation of nationally significant maritime heritage.
Student Jake Thorn said: "It was great to be part of such a monumental project. The ability to play a role in recovering history and see our work be appreciated by others brings me so much pride. I was able to develop skills for my career journey and leave my own mark by helping to find out what was on the tapes long after the Mary Rose was raised."
Fellow student Oliver Wibrew added: "Working with the deteriorating tapes showed me exactly why we had to do this project now and not wait any longer. We've been in close contact with the museum, and seen the hard work of the divers, and knowing their footage is safe and preserved is what stood out the most."
The Mary Rose was King Henry VIII's favourite warship and a flagship of the Tudor navy. Launched in 1511, she served for 34 years before tragically sinking during the Battle of the Solent in 1545.
Her rediscovery in the 1970s and dramatic raising in 1982 captivated the nation and became one of the most ambitious and significant maritime archaeological projects ever undertaken, but there were fears tapes of footage capturing this moment were deteriorating.
Footage of the Mary Rose being digitised. Credit: Charlie Watts
Alastair Miles, Collections Manager at The Mary Rose Trust, said the digitisation project will help to preserve the story of the salvage and recovery of the Mary Rose for future generations: "Each tape offers a unique window into the historically significant project and the University of Portsmouth's support in their digitisation has been invaluable at a pivotal moment for the archive. The recovery of the films in a digital format will help us to study, safeguard and share their stories for many years to come."
The preserved remains of the vessel, along with tens of thousands of artefacts recovered from the seabed, form the centrepiece of The Mary Rose Museum, offering an unparalleled window into life in Tudor England.
This weekend, visitors will be able to watch live demonstrations of the professional broadcast videotape equipment being used to transform the archive recordings into new digital formats and learn more from museum professionals and university researchers about the importance of the project, at the 'Take a Dive into Digitisation' event.
Charlie Watts added: "Recovering these remarkable recordings has required considerable patience, technical expertise and determination, and this weekend we're delighted to share the results with the public, including original underwater footage of the Mary Rose that hasn't been seen for over 40 years. It is an opportunity to celebrate that work and show visitors just how important it is to preserve these extraordinary records of our history."
The collaboration followed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Mary Rose Trust and the University of Portsmouth which took place in May 2024. The MoU is a formal extension of a relationship that has already borne fruit through joint research, innovation, student placements, and public engagement.
This latest digitisation effort has also been made possible thanks to the generosity and expertise of many individuals and organisations. Key contributors include Jake Esberger from Gravity Media, and academics in the University's Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries , including Professor George Burrows, Dr Brett Stevens, Dr Beatrice Ashton-Lelliott, Dr Penny Chalk, Matt Saxey, Stephen Bellinger and the continuing support of CCI media technicians, and last but not least Oliver Wibrew, Nathan Pattinson, Jake Thorn, Joseph Tilbury and James Watts, the students who have all worked hard digitising and encoding to realise the successful outcome of this project.
