HMS Warrior is the 3rd ship I visited during my trip to Portsmouth. First one I visited was the Tudor era Mary Rose, followed by early 19th century HMS Victory. This is, from a chronological perspective next, as it was a part of Queen Victoria’s Navy. This steam powered ship is also the very first iron-hulled warship. What I loved about the visit were the costumed interpreters who were on board, always in-character and ready to answer any questions informatively and entertaining. It was quite refreshing after the morose staff on HMS Victory.
HMS Warrior was the best warship when it was made, around the 1860.
The weather was not great when we visited, but it is indoors so perfect for any weather. I am showing some highlights.
Making sleeping arrangements just over the table is very handy. As the other warships, it had a lot of firepower on board, as you can see in the picture below.
The buckets were just like the ones on the previous ship. It was interesting to see small variations and, at the same time, how similar these were.
This is the steering wheel. It needed 20 sailors to pull to be able to turn the ship.
I liked the table. The water was visible from the porthole. It was such a lovely small thing to notice.
They had a fireplace. I didn’t see any on the previous ships. With the exception of the cooking facilities, of course.
The beds looked similar to the ones on the previous ship is design, but they were not as fancy as those.
HMS Warrior had quite a few cabins like this one. The ship was also used in diplomatic missions, so having small, but individual quarters was needed. The cabin is small, but so well made. There are drawers under the bed, offering quite a lot of storage to the ones travelling in it.
These were used by the sailor, to store their belongings. It’s so neat and tidy. It feels Victorian. They also had baths, as you can see in the picture below.
These are the laundry facilities. On the bottom is the washing machine, with a handle to spin it. These looked very sturdy and I imagine were very good too. On top is the press for removing the water from the freshly washed clothes, making it easier to dry them.
I really enjoyed my visit. I definitely think it is worth spending an hour or two admiring the ship.
I do like the look of this ship and the whole experience of visiting sounds great. The interpreters sound like a great help. x
Kim Carberry recently posted…A Guide to Cherry Blossom Season in the UK!
How fascinating. Thank you for taking us on that trip.
What a difference a half century or so makes! I wouldn’t have expected the fireplace. It looks like the “guest quarters” are bunks rather than hammocks. I think I might prefer a hammock on open water. It does look very tidy and compact.
Kelly recently posted…Spring will be here soon!
The fireplace was a surprise for me too. I like how nicely decorated is.
The bunks have drawers under the bed, for storage. They would have been quite good considering how small the cabin is.