The Mary Rose: Photo Courtesy of Stephen Foote
Over the years Pelloby have been asked to provide lifting and handling solutions across all manner of workplaces, but few of these have been as historically fascinating as the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.
Shortly after conservation work began on this Tudor warship way back in the early 1980s, Pelloby provided two bespoke transporter bogies to the Mary Rose Trust to help with the transfer of vital equipment for this painstaking project.
Handling a piece of history
King Henry VIII’s Mary Rose is one of Britain’s most well-known naval vessels, not only for its involvement in multiple wars, but also due to famously sinking in 1545, its rediscovery in 1971 and subsequent salvage in 1982.
The recovery of the Mary Rose has provided all sorts of information and insight into Britain’s maritime and military history during the Tudor period, but this has only been possible through decades of work from a dedicated team of experts.
Pelloby first became involved in the conservation project way back in 1985, when we designed and manufactured two transporter bogies to travel up and down along the hull of the Mary Rose so vital equipment could be lifted to and from the hull as required.
Having been a leader in bespoke handling systems since our formation in 1968, we were able to provide, deliver and install all the components used in these transporters from the end carriages to the 300mm diameter wheels and even the floor rails they run on.
All of these parts, right down to the bolts, were galvanised to protect against a special filtered, recycled water spray that was regularly used in the initial stages of conservation on the Mary Rose to limit microbial activity and prevent the wood from drying out and shrinking.
Mary Rose Museum: Photo Courtesy of Hufton+Crow
Moving forwards to a new view
As the years passed the Mary Rose Trust opened the ship up to public display, while continuing with their conservation work. In 2013 the Pelloby crane service team went back to update old parts on the then almost 30 year old transporter bogies. This involved carefully dismantling the systems, removing worn components and replacing them with brand new ones.
Flash forward to 2016 – and July saw a new uninterrupted view of the Mary Rose being unveiled following a £5.4m museum revamp, offering visitors a chance to see the ship like never before without any pipes and other obtrusions that had previously blocked views.
Pelloby’s Managing Director, Glen Hickman, explained that Pelloby were extremely pleased to be working on such a historically important project.
“The Mary Rose is one of Britain’s most well-known naval vessels, not only for its involvement in multiple wars and it’s connection to King Henry VIII, but even more so since its rediscovery and salvage in modern times.
“Pelloby Ltd. were delighted to supply these transporters for such an interesting application after the ship was first salvaged and it’s fantastic that our service department has been able to continue to provide ongoing support for the project over the years.”
Robert Lapraik, Deputy Chief Executive at the Mary Rose Trust commented “the two Pelloby transporters have served the Trust very well for over 30 years providing access to the Mary Rose during its spraying with chemicals then drying and now into its steady state conservation”.
If you have a lifting handling requirement for your place or work, our team will be happy to help you find a solution, no matter how complex or unique the job.
Call our experts on 01952 586 626 or email sales@pelloby.com today to find out more.