Based on “A Day in the Life of a Ship’s Boy” a Third Thursday Talk at the Mary Rose Museum by Ro Collins, Costumed Interpreter.
Life for boys in Tudor Times could be hard. Malnutrition was rampant, especially if you lived in the city. While there were schools, they were mainly attended by the rich or sons of wealthy merchant families, and so many poor children were sent to work, where they could increase the amount of money coming in.
While a life at sea might have seemed like a harsh one, it could lead to a better life; “shipmanscrafte” could lead to continuous employment, a steady income and a chance to better yourself.
It also meant a steady source of food too; in order to ensure the crew were “fighting fit”, they received a pound of beef a day, eight ships biscuits, a gallon of beer (even the boys, as it was safer than drinking the water!) as well as butter and various vegetables. It seems likely the boys had the same sized rations as the rest of the crew, as evidence of readily prepared cuts of meat have been found on the Mary Rose. Certainly, despite popular myths about bad food at sea, the boys of the Mary Rose ate a lot better than their counterparts on land!
Clothing would have basically been smaller versions of adult clothing, a leather jerkin, a woolly hat and britches, with, if they were lucky, shoes, which were considered a luxury item for children, even until quite recently. Most of the crew would have been barefoot though, as lack of grip would make the wet wooden decks slippery with their leather soled shoes. The majority of the shoes found on the Mary Rose were stowed away in the hold for this reason.
There would also have been little opportunity to wash, as facilities for such things on ship were limited at best. Then again, how many young boys today would be bothered about that? There would also have been lots of headlice, an issue that affects many boys today! This could be treated by having short hair and a daily run-through with a nitcomb, which is less effective than today’s shampoos, but probably nicer on the eyes!
Of course, with all this came the necessity of work. Boys would serve the role of what is commonly referred today as a “Gopher”, doing odd jobs, fetching and carrying and generally doing all the jobs that the older, more experienced crew didn’t want to do, but didn’t require too much strength.
We don’t know exactly how many boys would have been on board the Mary Rose; of the 200 complete and nearly complete skeletons found with the hull, 17 were aged between 13-18, while two were around 10 years old. How many others there were is unknown, as although there are records, they are a bit vague.
o find out more about the sort of life a ship's boy was getting away from, visit http://www.localhistories.org/portsmouthtudor.html, a fascinating website run by Tim Lambert, one of our volunteers in the Mary Rose Museum.
Image of ship’s Boy by Marian Forster, from Before the Mast: Life and Death Aboard the "Mary Rose" ISBN-10: 0954402944
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