The Life Scientific: Eleanor Schofield
Discovery
BBC
4.3 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 2 February 2026
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
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.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio Podcasts. |
| 0:05.6 | Oh, hello. You have chosen a BBC podcast, but before you listen to it, we thought you might like our podcast too. |
| 0:12.1 | You might. You might. It is called Sightraught with me Nick Grimshaw. |
| 0:15.2 | And me, Annie Mack. And we talk about the week in music. |
| 0:18.2 | All the news, all the cultural happenings in the UK and beyond. |
| 0:22.2 | And great guests. And it's on BBC Sounds. Yes, where you can also enjoy lots of |
| 0:27.1 | playlists, music mixes and live radio. Everything from my six music breakfast show to Radio |
| 0:33.2 | 3 Unwind. But obviously start with our our podcast sidetrack. Obviously. Obviously. |
| 0:40.1 | So if you like music, listen on BBC Sans. |
| 0:44.7 | Hello and welcome to a special edition of The Life Scientific, coming to you complete with audience from the Mary Rose Museum at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, where maritime history meets |
| 0:51.0 | conservation science. |
| 0:53.1 | Ladies and gentlemen, picture the scene. |
| 0:54.8 | It's July 1545 and King Henry VIII is at war with France. |
| 0:59.2 | Again, as the French fleet enters the Solent, Henry watches from the battlements of |
| 1:04.2 | South Sea Castle as his warships head out from the harbour to meet them. |
| 1:08.0 | Cannons loaded and sails high, including his favourite, the mighty Mary |
| 1:12.3 | Rose. And then she sinks. Right there, in full view of all the spectators, the pride of the |
| 1:18.7 | Tudor Navy vanishes under the waves. Whether this was down to French firepower, the weather, |
| 1:24.6 | or just plain human error. We don't know for sure. But what the ocean took, |
| 1:29.5 | science has recovered. More than 400 years after she went down in 1982, the Mary Rose was |
| 1:35.5 | salvaged. And today, thanks to decades of painstaking conservation, the surviving section of the ship, |
| 1:41.6 | along with thousands of artefacts, are on display here at the museum. |
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