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A gunroom is the
A gunroom is the junior officer
Junior officer, company officer or company grade officer refers to the lowest operational commissioned officer category of ranks in a military or paramilitary organization, ranking above non-commissioned officers and below senior officers.
D ...
s' mess
The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...
on a naval vessel. It was occupied by the officers below the rank of lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
. In wooden sailing ships it was on a 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
The wardroom is the mess, mess cabin or compartment on a warship or other military ship for commissioned naval Officer (armed forces), officers above the rank of midshipman. Although the term typically applies to officers in a navy, it is also ...
.
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.Oxford English Dictionary, "gunroom"
In an English country house
image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...
, the gunroom is a secure walk-in vault in which sporting rifle
A rifle is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...
s, shotgun
A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which discharges numerous small ...
s, ammunition and other shooting accessories are kept. They are locked away partly for security, partly as some makes such as Holland & Holland
Holland & Holland Limited is a British gunmaker and luxury clothing retailer based in London, England, which sells handmade sporting rifles and shotguns. The company holds two Royal Warrant of Appointment (United Kingdom), royal warrants.
His ...
or Purdey are highly valuable (costing as much as £60,000 for shotguns and £100,000 for rifles and with a 2- to 3-year waiting list from order to delivery).
See also
*Magazine (artillery)
A magazine is an item or place within which ammunition or other explosive material is stored. The word is taken originally from the Arabic word ''makhāzin'' (مخازن), meaning "storehouses", via Italian and Middle French.
The term is also u ...
References
{{Sailing ship elements Ship compartments Military catering sv:Gunrum