HMS Victory and the Mary Rose: Comparative Conservation Strategies for the Preservation of Neighbouring Historic Warships

The Mary Rose and HMS Victory are arguably the two most important historic warships in the UK, and both face multiple challenges in terms of their conservation. This PhD project will investigate the preservation state of the oak timbers on the ships and explore how the different environments and conservation treatments they have experienced have altered the initial materials and their chemical, biological and mechanical properties. How do the findings influence the ships' respective long-term conservation management strategies? The project will further investigate how the different wood preservation states and the impact of conservation treatments on the timbers can be recorded visually for dissemination through museum websites and visitor attractions.

The project will be co-supervised by Mr Fabio D'Agnano (UWE), Dr Eleanor Schofield (Mary Rose Trust) and Mrs Diana Davis (National Museum of the Royal Navy).