Help the Mary Rose build a Colossal LEGO® brick mosaic

If you are looking for a great family day out this summer this event at the Mary Rose Museum might just be the answer.

From Saturday 21st July – Sunday 2nd September, visitors can help the Mary Rose build a giant LEGO brick mosaic, one of the largest ever built in Britain.

In partnership with Bright Bricks, the UK’s premier independent LEGO brick building company, the Mary Rose want you to help recreate the famous Cowdray engraving of the Battle of the Solent, featuring the sinking of the Mary Rose.

©The Mary Rose Trust.

Measuring 12 by 3 metres, this particular LEGO brick mosaic will be based on The Encampment of the English forces near Portsmouth Cowdray engraving which offers an aerial view of Tudor Portsmouth. The fleet of French King, Francis I, can be seen battling King Henry VIII’s ships on 19 July 1545, the fateful day the Mary Rose sank. As the battle wages on in Solent waters, Henry VIII watches from nearby Southsea Castle.

Weighing 236 kilos, once finished, the mosaic will comprise 9,218 tiles, carrying 589,924 1x1 bricks. Stacked on top of each other, the bricks would reach a distance of 5.662 km high. That’s just over 3,000 Henry VIII’s standing on top of each other!

Helen Bonser-Wilton, Chief Executive of the Mary Rose Trust, said: “We are delighted to be collaborating with Bright Bricks to recreate the Cowdray engraving as a LEGO brick work of art. I know families and visitors of all ages will enjoy helping us complete this mammoth mosaic and see the image being created before their very eyes.”

The mosaic will be built from 589,924 1x1 Lego bricks. ©The Mary Rose Trust.

You can complete a LEGO 8x8cm square, which will then be added to the mosaic to create the overall picture of the Cowdray engraving. Participation costs £6 per square which also enables you to ‘Make and Take’ a LEGO brick mini-model home with you.

Places are limited so pre-book to secure your place at www.maryrose.org, where you can also book your Mary Rose tickets at 10% online discount. Kids Go Free (up to 3 children accompanied by at least one paying adult, children must be aged 15 or younger), runs from Saturday 21st July – Sunday 2nd September. Tickets can be bought from the Mary Rose Visitor Centre and Museum. These tickets are valid for 12 months from purchase date, so you can experience the Tudor fun throughout the year.

Visit the Mary Rose this summer and immerse yourself in Tudor life!

Adult tickets for Mary Rose are priced at £16 (less for children and concessions) and family tickets are also available. Tickets can be bought from the Mary Rose Visitor Centre and Museum. A 10% discount applies to tickets bought online at www.maryrose.org.

Kids Go Free (up to 3 children accompanied by at least one paying adult, children must be aged 15 or younger) runs from Saturday 21 July – Sunday 2 September. Tickets can be bought from the Mary Rose Visitor Centre and Museum. A 10% discount applies to tickets bought online at www.maryrose.org. General admission tickets are valid for 12 months from date of purchase.

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard tickets bought after 30th March 2018 do not include admission to Mary Rose and Mary Rose tickets cannot be bought from the PHD Visitor Centre.

Opening Hours:
November – March – 10am-5pm (last entry 4:15pm)
April – October – 10am – 5:30pm (last entry 4:45pm)
24-26th December – Closed

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