HMS Victory - Stern Galleys and Cannons

Here we can see the wooden 'stern galleys' of HMS Victory, as they appeared 'mostly' in circa 1794:

This area of HMS Victory represented the 'height of sculpture' for the days (and probably today as well!). It was standard practice for ships of the line, to be decorated astern - although only 'first rates' (such as HMS Victory) would have taken it 'to these levels'. The lowermost windows are located at the stern of the wardroom (where officers would eat). The middlemost windows are located at the stern of the admiral's day cabin (where 'his strategy' was usually planned). The uppermost windows are located at the stern of the captain's day cabin (directly above the admirals). As the admiral was a 'higher rank' than the captain, this meant that his cabins would be 'more stable' whilst at sea (owing to a lower 'centre of gravity'). Whilst this was true for ships of the line, this arrangement appears to have been reversed in later warships (with the admiral's cabins 'higher up'). To the left of the galleys (in this view) can be found the cannons of HMS Victory: the lowermost are 32-pounders, the middlemost are 24-pounders and the uppermost (including those on the quarterdeck) are 12-pounders.