Aft: The Captain's day cabin: Photo © Peter Milford
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The after end of the maindeck, astern of the great citadel doors, was given over to the officers half deck and Captain's quarters - an
enormous expanse of space compared to the cramped conditions of the ordinary seamen and stokers. In the great day cabin, furnished with
the space and appearance of a country house, the Captain controlled the movement of the ship and the lives of every man on board. Under
the orders of the Admiralty, the Captain managed the ship - and, quite literally, exercised the power of life and death over everyone on board. His was the final responsibility for all that happened - glory in battle or shame through a navigational error.
Warrior's first Captain was the Honourable Arthur Cochrane, regarded as one of the best sea going commanders of his time. Cochrane was known
as an excellent seaman but also, and critically with this new ship, had a capacity for technical innovation. The cabin appears today as it would have
at the time of Captain Cochrane's commission.
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Aft: The Captain's day cabin: Photo © Peter Milford
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The cabin extends over almost the full width of the ship - with only a small amount of space given over to the night cabin on the starboard side. The floor
is covered with a painted canvas drugget - painted to give the appearance of a tiled floor - and carpets. There are paintings and pictures on the
bulkheads (walls) and even a coal fired stove to provide heating in winter. The Captain worked at his desk at the forward end of the cabin.
Here there are chairs and a sofa - very much the working area to receive and interview other officers. The port side of the cabin is the dining area with
a table to seat the Captain and 9 guests. Often the Captain would eat here alone - he was not a member of the Wardroom and could enter the space
for other officers only at their invitation. The cabin has natural illumination - from portholes on the port side, through gratings in the quarter deck
above and from the portholes in the night cabin to starboard. The immediate impression on entering is one of light and space.
The expanse of this cabin, and the obvious isolation of the Captain, served only to enhance his reputation as 'second only to God' in the eyes of
the ordinary seamen.
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Aft: The Captain's day cabin: Photo © Peter Milford
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The captain's cot: Photo © Peter Milford
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On the starboard side there is a smaller night cabin with the Captain's cot which is suspended by ropes from a swinging bar attached to the
deckhead (ceiling) beams. The cot is, in reality, a rather larger version of the common seamen's hammock with wooden sides to maintain its
shape and draped curtains to provide some shade and additional privacy.
The Captain had his own personal steward who worked from a small pantry nearby, preparing food for the Captain and his guests. Some of this may have been
cooked in the galley alongside the food for other members of the crew, but was served to the Captain at his own table and with his own luxuries - china
plates, glasses, wine from his own supply etc.
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Astern of the cabin are doors leading to his private heads and after cabin where visitors often stayed in harbour. Unlike the great cabins on board
Victory, the Captain's cabin on Warrior does not have a stern gallery with
windows looking out over the ship's wake. The propeller well and rudder head gear take up space across the stern. The ropes running across the
deckhead are the rudder lines - from the wheel to the rudder yoke. From astern, Warrior seems to have a traditional appearance,
but the stern gallery is false and only serves to maintain her appearance.
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Aft: the false stern gallery: Photo © Peter Milford
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