Here you see the exquisite wardroom pantry fitt ed inside the Na val Academy's two-century-old model of the British 2d Rate Princess Royal of 1773 (HHR Model #70) . This remarkable view was captured by inserting a laparoscope into one of the nearby middle deck gunports. Note the astonish ing intricacy of the lattice work, which in reality reaches just over a half inch in height. Turned and chamfered pillars support the massive beams of the upper deck above. Deck planking has been left off to reveal the beams, ledges, and carlings of the deck frami ng beneath. Just like the real pantries fitt ed to Royal Na vy line-of-battle ships beginning in the late 1700s, the example on the model is made in two parts: the smaller, aftermost pon ion served the wardroom , while the much larger fo rward part was reserved f or the captain.
ra
Note the astonishing intricacy of the lattice work, which in reality reaches just over a half inch in height. Turned and chamfered pillars support the massive beams of the upper deck above. Let into the upper deck of the model thought to represent the Sussex of 1693 (Model Number 8) is what is known as a "rowle" fo r a whipstaff. Evidence of the whipstaff is quite rare. It was the means by which large ships were steered in the 17th century. A long vertical pole (the "whip") passed through the hole yo u see in th e center of the rowle, joining the f oremost end of the tiller a deck below. The helmsman turned the rudder by pulling the whipstajfone way or the other. The line dra wing at right shows the design of a whipstaff and rowle on a Dutch galleon of the 1590s. (From Bjorn Landstrom's T he Shi p (Doubleday & Company, Inc. , 1961 )) Sadly, the model' s original whipstaff has disappeared, but this entrancing digital picture (below left ) showing the ro wle nonetheless leaves a strong impression of how an actual large twodeckerji¡om the William and Mary period looked below decks. The dark rectangle in the photo' s center is an open gun port on the f ar (s tarboard) side. Just f orward (left) of the rowle is a beautifully carved bell staircase. Each step measures about JI16 inch high. Th e digital image below right is a close-up looking down at the rowle.
SEA HISTORY 77, SPRING 1996
19