The museum is dedicated to the 16th-century Tudor navy warship Mary Rose as well as the historical context in which she was active.

[3] The Mary Rose Museum (2013) was designed by architects WilkinsonEyre, Perkins+Will and built by construction firm Warings.

The construction was challenging because the museum was built over the ship in the dry dock, which is a listed monument.

In April 2013, the polyethylene glycol sprays were turned off and the process of controlled air drying began.

[4] In 2016, the museum was closed for 9 months whilst a £5.4 million development was undertaken that allows visitors to view the ship without being separated from it by a wall of glass.