Gunroom
Encyclopedia
A gunroom is the junior officer
s' mess
on a naval vessel. It was occupied by the officers below the rank of lieutenant
, but who are not warrant officer
s of the class of the boatswain
, gunner or carpenter. In the wooden sailing ships it was on the lower deck, and was originally the quarters of the gunner, but in its form as a mess, guns were not normally found in it. The senior officers' equivalent is the wardroom
.
In large ships of war, the gunroom was a compartment originally occupied by the gunner and his mates, but now fitted up for the accommodation of the junior officers; in smaller vessels, that used as a mess-room by the lieutenants.
'The Gunroom', named after this cabin, is also a longstanding online discussion group dedicated to the works of Patrick O'Brian
, who wrote the Aubrey–Maturin series
of novels about naval vessels and the characters found aboard them.
In an English country house
, the Gun Room is a secure walk-in vault in which sporting rifles
, shotguns
, ammunition and other shooting accessories are kept. They are locked away partly for security, partly as some makes such as Holland and Holland or Purdey
are highly valuable (costing as much as £60,000 for shotguns and £100,000 for rifles and with a 2-3 year waiting list from order to delivery).
Junior officer
The term junior officer is sometimes used to make clear that an officer in a military or paramilitary unit is not in overall command. The term senior officer is reserved for the officer in overall command....
s' mess
Mess
A mess is the place where military personnel socialise, eat, and live. In some societies this military usage has extended to other disciplined services eateries such as civilian fire fighting and police forces. The root of mess is the Old French mes, "portion of food" A mess (also called a...
on a naval vessel. It was occupied by the officers below the rank of lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
, but who are not warrant officer
Warrant Officer
A warrant officer is an officer in a military organization who is designated an officer by a warrant, as distinguished from a commissioned officer who is designated an officer by a commission, or from non-commissioned officer who is designated an officer by virtue of seniority.The rank was first...
s of the class of the boatswain
Boatswain
A boatswain , bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun is an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. The boatswain supervises the other unlicensed members of the ship's deck department, and typically is not a watchstander, except on vessels with small crews...
, gunner or carpenter. In the wooden sailing ships it was on the lower deck, and was originally the quarters of the gunner, but in its form as a mess, guns were not normally found in it. The senior officers' equivalent is the wardroom
Wardroom
The wardroom is the mess-cabin of naval commissioned officers above the rank of Midshipman. The term the wardroom is also used to refer to those individuals with the right to occupy that wardroom, meaning "the officers of the wardroom"....
.
In large ships of war, the gunroom was a compartment originally occupied by the gunner and his mates, but now fitted up for the accommodation of the junior officers; in smaller vessels, that used as a mess-room by the lieutenants.
'The Gunroom', named after this cabin, is also a longstanding online discussion group dedicated to the works of Patrick O'Brian
Patrick O'Brian
Patrick O'Brian, CBE , born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and centred on the friendship of English Naval Captain Jack Aubrey and the Irish–Catalan physician Stephen...
, who wrote the Aubrey–Maturin series
Aubrey–Maturin series
The Aubrey–Maturin series is a sequence of nautical historical novels—20 completed and one unfinished—by Patrick O'Brian, set during the Napoleonic Wars and centering on the friendship between Captain Jack Aubrey of the Royal Navy and his ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin, who is also a physician,...
of novels about naval vessels and the characters found aboard them.
In an English country house
English country house
The English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a London house. This allowed to them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country...
, the Gun Room is a secure walk-in vault in which sporting rifles
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
, shotguns
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
, ammunition and other shooting accessories are kept. They are locked away partly for security, partly as some makes such as Holland and Holland or Purdey
James Purdey and Sons
James Purdey & Sons - or simply "Purdey" - is a famous British gunmaker of London, and the name is synonymous with the very finest sporting shotguns and rifles. Purdeys hold or have held numerous warrants of appointment as gun and rifle makers to the British and other European royal...
are highly valuable (costing as much as £60,000 for shotguns and £100,000 for rifles and with a 2-3 year waiting list from order to delivery).