Dockyard festival takes visitors right back to Tudor times

Medieval shipwright skills on display in Boathouse 4 using the same techniques that were used on the Mary Rose

Picture: Mic Young — Medieval shipwright skills on display in Boathouse 4 using the same techniques that were used on the Mary Rose Picture: Mic Young

Scores of visitors turned up for the first Summer Festival, held inside Boathouse 4, which runs until Sunday.

Family activities ran throughout the day, including tours, live music, dancing and demonstrations inside the boathouse as well as in the main dockyard.

Portsmouth’s nautical ties were prominent at the spectacle as visitors got the chance to learn more about traditional boatbuilding, wood-working, and Tudor shipbuilding.

And there were demonstrations of historical techniques used to build the Mary Rose and qualified boatbuilders were on hand to answer questions.

Organiser Marian Smith said: ‘The launch of the very first Summer Festival at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard has been a tremendous success. We are set for a fantastic weekend.

‘Hundreds of our dockyard visitors have loved all of the free activities here at Boathouse 4, including the Tudor shipwright workshop, having a go on our work benches, listening to ‘Sir Alec Rose’ on board Lively Lady and looking around the wonderful Forgotten Craft exhibition in the Boathouse.’

A model boat display with pyrotechnics was held from the Portsmouth Model Boat Display Team on the Mast Pond outside Action Stations.

Portsea’s Groundlings Theatre provided entertainment with music, singing and theatricals.

Brianna Macey, nine, of Portsmouth, was enjoying the family day out.

She said: ‘It was fun to look at all the boats and see how they were made and how they are made now. I liked learning about history of the dockyard.’

Waterside Markets will be held at the Historic Dockyard over the weekend.

The Summer Festival takes place between 10am until 5pm today and tomorrrow.