Eleanor Schofield on conserving Tudor warship the Mary Rose

The Life Scientific

BBC

Technology, Personal Journals, Society & Culture, Science

4.6 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 4 November 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In July 1545, King Henry VIII watched from Southsea Castle on England's south coast as his fleet sailed out to face the French - only to witness his prized warship, the Mary Rose, sink before his eyes.

Raised from the Solent in 1982, the ship is now the centrepiece of the Mary Rose Museum, along with thousands more artefacts that were recovered from the seabed. But keeping the 500-year-old ship and its associated Tudor relics in good condition is no small task, which is where Dr Eleanor Schofield comes in. As Director of Collections at the Mary Rose Trust and a materials engineer by training, Eleanor has spent years tackling the unique scientific challenges of conserving centuries-old wood and metal. From the United States to Portsmouth, Eleanor's research is helping ensure this iconic vessel remains 'ship-shape' for generations to come.

In a special edition of The Life Scientific, recorded in front of an audience at the museum in Portsmouth's Historic Dockyards, Professor Jim Al-Khalili discovers how cutting-edge science is keeping history afloat.

Presented by Jim Al-Khalili Produced by Lucy Taylor for BBC Studios

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, radio, podcasts.
0:07.3	Hello, I'm Kimberly Wilson. I'm a psychologist, and in my new podcast, Complex, I'll be your guide
0:14.4	through all the information and misinformation that's out there about mental health.
0:19.0	I'm joined by expert guests covering topics
0:21.8	from people pleasing to perfectionism,
0:24.2	burnout to empathy,
0:25.9	to find tangible advice
0:27.3	so we can understand ourselves a little better.
0:30.5	Complex with me, Kimberly Wilson.
0:33.0	Listen on BBC Sounds.
0:35.6	You're about to listen to the latest series of The Life Scientific.
0:39.8	Episodes will be released weekly wherever you get your podcasts.
0:43.7	But if you're in the UK, you can listen to the latest episodes 28 days before anywhere else, first on BBC Sounds.
0:53.5	Hello and welcome to a special edition of the Life Scientific, coming to you complete with audience
0:58.6	from the Mary Rose Museum at Portsmouth's Historic Dockyard, where maritime history meets
1:04.5	conservation science. Ladies and gentlemen, picture the scene. It's July 1545 and King Henry VIII is at war with France.
1:12.9	Again, as the French fleet enters the Solent, Henry watches from the battlements of South Sea Castle as his warships head out from the harbour to meet them.
1:21.8	Cannons loaded and sails high, including his favourite, the mighty Mary Rose.
1:26.8	And then she sinks. Right there, in full view of all
1:30.5	the spectators, the pride of the Tudor Navy vanishes under the waves. Whether this was down to French
1:36.5	firepower, the weather, or just plain human error, we don't know for sure. But what the ocean took,
1:43.0	science has recovered. More than 400 years
	...

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