You are now standing on the foredeck, above the ship's fo’c’sle. This deck served as another raised platform, useful when fighting in close quarters with another ship. From here, soldiers could use ranged weapons to rain fire down on their enemies. Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, as naval combat became increasingly dominated by artillery rather than boarding actions, the speed and stability of ships became more important than having raised fighting platforms. Fo’c’sles became lower and were eventually removed entirely.
If you carefully look over the side of the railing on either side of the ship, you’ll see a wooden beam jutting out with a wheel, or ‘sheave’, in the end. These are called ‘catheads’. You’ll notice that the inner ends of the catheads, called ‘cat-tails’ are joined together to form a V-shape behind the foremast. Catheads are used to support the anchor when it is being raised and for holding it whilst it is being lashed to the side – a process called catting and fishing.
Looking over the rail at the very front of the ship, you’ll be able to see the bowsprit and the spritsail yard. These would have carried the spritsail. Beneath the bowsprit is the beakhead – the pointed front of the galleon which resembles a bird’s beak. Finally, at the very tip of the beakhead is our figurehead, a golden female deer or ‘hind’. Figureheads were becoming increasingly popular decorations onboard European ships in the 16th century and took the form of patriotic emblems, saints, sea creatures or physical representations of the ship’s name.
It is unlikely that the 16th century Golden Hinde would have had a female deer as its figurehead. When the ship left Plymouth in 1577, Drake’s flagship was called the Pelican. Its name changed at some point on the voyage, potentially as late as when it had already returned to England. The precise reasons for the change are unclear, but many historians believe it was the result of a conflict between Drake and one of the gentlemen on board: a man called Thomas Doughty.
Doughty was a friend of Drake’s. He was also a gentleman, a lawyer and personal secretary to one of the ship’s principle sponsors, a powerful man called Sir Christopher Hatton. Doughty believed that responsibility for the voyage was shared between 3 men: Drake, a man called John Wynter, and himself. When Drake appointed himself ‘Captain-General’ and assumed command, Doughty took offence.
He began to cause trouble, stirring up tensions between the gentlemen and the rest of the crew. On more than one occasion, these tensions bubbled over into violence. Drake and Doughty eventually came to blows and Doughty was tied to the mainmast. At Puerto San Julian, in modern day Argentina, Doughty was tried for mutiny, treason and witchcraft. Found guilty of mutiny, Drake executed him.
Perhaps fearful that killing a close associate of one of his powerful sponsors would lead to trouble, Drake appears to have renamed his flagship after the golden deer which was featured on Christopher Hatton’s coat of arms. It’s possible that by honouring Hatton in this way, Drake hoped to avoid reprimand.
Doughty’s family attempted to try Drake for murder when he returned to England but were unsuccessful. Historians still debate Doughty’s innocence and Drake’s jurisdiction.
As well as supporting the figurehead, the beakhead also served as the ship’s primary latrine. Mariners would go to the toilet through gaps in the planking, straight into the sea. Sea water crashing up through the gaps would serve to clean the latrine, and an old, frayed rope or rag dragging in the water could be pulled up to serve as toilet paper. Heads is still a term we use for ship’s toilets today.