PS MEDWAY QUEEN - VIRTUAL TOUR
We now go below to the main deck. The aft deck house is a new construction to protect the companionway from the weather. It is similar in concept to the one that provided the same cover when the ship was on the Isle of Wight.
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Aft Saloon
We follow our guide down the stairway and through the fire door into the aft saloon In the large aft saloon there would have been (and will sometime be again) a restaurant serving a variety of food and drink but especially fish and chips or high tea to Medway Queen’s passengers. When the ship was a club house on the Isle of Wight this was a space for discos and functions. During the war this space was the officers' mess. It was then considerably smaller than it is now as the stern part was cut away to increase deck area for the mine-sweeping equipment. |
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We are refitting this area, as a matter of some priority, as a function space which can be hired out in order to generate income. Later it could revert to its original use as a restaurant. It has been used on a small scale for society meetings, the occasional music evening and to host temporary exhibitions. The full width access stairs will eventually be clad in timber to regain their original appearance.
Photos Above: the aft saloon in November 2023 - Bob Wilde. Right: the saloon in excursion service. Marshall Vine. |
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