England: The Mary Rose - A Tudor Tale28th Mar 2025
From:£895
Summary
The raising of Henry VIII’s flagship the Mary Rose was one of the most complex and expensive maritime salvage projects in history and the surviving section of the ship and thousands of recovered artefacts are of great value as a Tudor period time capsule. Today the museum which houses her, rebuilt in 2013, is one of the foremost visitor attractions on the south coast and forms the centrepiece of this new tour which takes in a series of properties associated with the great Tudor age.
We begin at Hampton Court Palace, which became one of Henry VIII’s most favoured residences and is home to the last medieval great hall built for the English monarchy. We then visit the Historic Dockyard in Portsmouth, home to the Mary Rose Museum, where we have a private talk on how the life of the Mary Rose and the tumultuous reign of King Henry VIII were intertwined, followed by a guided tour of the museum, and in the afternoon we visit the Tudor House and Garden in Southampton. We take a trip along the south coast with visits to Henry VIII’s fourth wife Anne of Cleve’s house in Lewes; Arundel Castle and its distinguished Tudor connections and the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum. Finally we visit the great 16th century ‘powerhouse’ The Vyne, completing our Tudor tale.
What to Expect
- Private talk and guided tour of the Mary Rose
- The magnificent Hampton Court Palace
- Multiple Tudor connections on the south coast
- The stately surroundings of The Vyne
Departure Routes
| Location | Pickup Time | Dropoff Time |
|---|---|---|
| London, Coach bays on Tothill Street, Westminster | 11:00 | 15:00 |
** Please note that all timings are approximate and subject to change. Final timings and pick-up points will be confirmed with your joining instructions approximately 10 days prior to departure. **
Day by Day Itinerary
We depart by coach from our central London pick-up point and depart for a visit to Hampton Court Palace. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chief minister of Henry VIII. In 1529, as Wolsey fell from favour, the cardinal gave the palace to the king to check his disgrace. The palace went on to become one of Henry’s most favoured residences; soon after acquiring the property, he arranged for it to be enlarged so it could accommodate his sizeable retinue of courtiers. In later years it was much extended, in various architectural styles, but at its heart it remains Tudor, and symbolic of the enormous power that dynasty wielded.
We continue to our hotel in Winchester.
Meals includedDinner
