This video is an animation explaining the internal layout, workings and technology of a First Rate British warship c.1690. It is based on a highly detailed cut-away painting attributed to Thomas Phillips, an English military engineer and obviously a fine draughtsman. The painting is notable for the sheer volume of technical detail it contains, all accurately illustrated helping us better understand the anatomy of a Royal Navy fighting vessel in the latter half of the 17th Century.
This vessel would carry over a hundred heavy cannon, weigh around two thousand tons and carry a compliment of over 750 ratings, junior and senior officers.
Closer examination of the painting shows the exceptional detail, particularly in the stern: wooden panelling adorns the cabin walls and a selection of small arms and what appears to be a Davies quadrant, an instrument for obtaining solar elevations used in navigation.
The panelled cabins shared floorspace with huge cannon, lest we forget that this was a ship built for action. Let's assume the weapon has already been fired… and is about to be used for a second time and examine the sequence of events
A wet swab or sponge, is run down the barrel to clean away any powder residue and extinguish anything hot left in the barrel that could reignite the next charge with disastrous consequences. After every fourth firing a ‘ worm ‘ was used to ream out the barrel and rid it of any debris that had accumulated.
Next a cylindrical shovel or ladle is used to insert a charge of gunpowder at the base of chambe. The charge could be loose or in a cloth or parchment cartridge, the latter would require piercing with a ‘ pricker ‘ prior to ignition. There then follows a ‘ wad ‘, a disk of canvas or old rope, rammed home with the ‘ rammer ‘ which could share a handle with the ‘ ladle ‘ The shot is rolled in followed by a second ‘ wad ‘ used to prevent the ball rolling out if the barrel is depressed.
The cannon is then ‘ run out ‘ the crew heaving on the gun tackles to move the carriage which could weigh two tons into it’s firing position, a heavy rope is wound round the cascabel and secured to the large iron rings set into the bulwark.
The pricker pierces the charge …The touchhole is filled with priming powder … a more refined blend … the linstock, a smouldering fuse on a long stick… is used for ignition …the priming charge burns down … and the cannon FIRES !!
A ship at sea naturally takes on water in small quantities, through leaky joints, bad weather and all kinds of other ingress … accidents or damage in battle, can cause significant flooding in a ship and water has to be removed quickly … this vessel is equipped with a chain pump, draining from the bilge … which was capable of discharging up to a ton of water a minute.
The crew worked a pair of hand cranks to supply the power, a sprocket wheel engages with a chain … similar to a bicycle but vertical … every other link has a leather disc attached which makes a seal with the inside of the circular pipe casing … when the chain is set in motion, water is collected from the bilges and carried up the pipe in the closed vertical cylinders … at the top, each column of water is discharged into a sluice on the lower gun deck and sent overboard.
The ‘capstan‘ on a ship was a means of increasing the pulling power of the sailors, the vertical axle could have two drums, one on each deck in order to double the number of bars that could be brought to use in it’s operation. The bars were inserted into slots on each drum to which the sailors would lend their weight, often singing a sea shanty to coordinate their efforts as the capstan was turned.
As the capstan turned the ‘ messenger cable ‘ would be lashed to the anchor cable with loops of rope called ‘ nippers ‘ which would pull on the larger cable and drive it rearwards for subsequent stowage below, the ‘ nippers ‘ would be removed and the anchor cable allowed to descend through the ‘ main hatch ‘ to the ‘orlop’ …. we also see the two large sturdy frames, called ‘ bitts ‘, which were used for securing the cable when the vessel was lying at anchor.
Heading along to the bow, we see the cooking stove, complete with a large cauldron … a fire on board a wooden ship is unthinkable, thus the stove was built on bricks or slate slabs … usually with a bed of sand beneath to check the transfer of heat … a vertical chimney through the ‘ weatherdeck ‘ vented the smoke aloft.
This was where the crews food was cooked, before the open hearth there was an iron frames to spit roast foul or a multitude of other victuals, a drip tray for the fat would be placed on the ledge beneath. Whilst the great cauldron creates the image of endless, watery stews with few ingredients and little flavour, the truth could be different, records show that a great variety of food could be cooked … open it up and we see that the cauldron could be filled with a variety of fare.