Lower Gun Deck

 

 

Gun room: At the stern (back) of this deck is the gun room where the gunner, chaplain and junior officers lived. A canvas screen, which could be rolled up during a battle, separated the gunroom from the rest of the deck. Arranged along the sides were 4 canvas cabins, which could also be rolled up when required. The number of cabins was restricted by the sweep of the 29ft (m) long tiller, which is attached to the tiller through the stern (back) of the gun room. Because some of the ship's youngest crew members were in the care of the Gunner they would have eaten their meals in the gun room.
Mess deck: The lower gun deck served as the living area for the largest proportion of Victory's crew. 
About 460 men would sleep on this deck, while some 570 men would eat their meals here.
Mess table: At meal times the crew were divided into messes of either 4 or 8 men. Each man would take his turn in being the mess cook. The mess cook would collect and prepare the food before taking it to the galley. When mealtime was called the mess cook would then collect and serve the meal. Some of the men would eat their food from tables slung from the deck head (ceiling). The others would use collapsable tables set up across the rest of the deck.
Hammocks: Most of the Victory's crew slept in hammocks. Each man was issued with his own hammock, a wool filled mattress and 2 blankets. The hammocks were slung from battens fixed to the overhead beams at intervals of 16in (41cm). Although the space was cramped each man's room was effectively doubled because half the crew worked while the others slept.
Chain pumps: Centred on the main mast are Victory's 4 chain pumps. These were used to pump out any water that might have collected in the hold. The water was drawn up from the hold and either pumped through a removable pipe to the outside or allowed to spill onto the deck. If the water went onto the deck in would then drain out through the scuppers. It is calculated the chain pumps could pump approx. 30 tons of water per hour. This was put to the test after the battle of Trafalgar when the ship was taking on 12in (30cm) of water per hour due to battle damage.
Manger: Constructed using 3 low wooden bulkheads (walls), the manger sits right at the bow (front) end of this deck. Although the name implies it was used to house animals it is believed that this rarely happened. The manger's main purpose was to prevent water running along the deck when it came through the hawser holes (these are the holes where the anchor cables entered the ship). It was also where the dirty anchor cable would be cleaned as it was pulled back in when weighing anchor.