You are now standing on The Half Deck, which runs from the stern of the ship to the mainmast in the centre. In the 16th century, this area of the ship would have been primarily occupied by the higher-ranking members of the crew, who would have consisted of master mariners and gentlemen. In the centre of the deck is another hatch, which served the important purpose of allowing communication between the officers on this deck and those steering the ship in the cabin below.
From this deck, you get an excellent view of all three masts – the mizzen at the stern, the main in the middle and the fore at the front. Halfway up both the fore and main masts are wooden baskets called fighting tops. These would have been reached by climbing the rigging on either side of the mast and provided a useful platform. During battles, men armed with longbows and arquebuses, a type of 16th century gun, would have been stationed up here to fire down on the decks of enemy ships. You can see examples of these weapons in the armoury below this deck.
At the very top of the masts are criss-crossing black planks. These are called cross-trees. Mariners would have stood or sat on these when working as lookouts. On rough seas, The Golden Hinde can roll 45 degrees either side of centre – lookouts would need to hold on tight.
At the stern of the ship, behind the mizzen mast is the Poop Deck. Despite its name, this was not the ship’s toilet. Instead, it served as another raised platform for fighting and signalling. You can see a swivel gun mounted on the rail – this would have been loaded with bits of metal called grapeshot and used as an anti-personnel weapon.