Editing SS Great Britain (section)

===Interior===
[[File:SS Great Britain 1st class dining room.jpg|thumb|left | Looking down one aisle of the reconstructed dining saloon in the museum ship SS ''Great Britain'']]

The interior was divided into three decks, the upper two for passengers and the lower for cargo. The two passenger decks were divided into forward and aft compartments, separated by the engines and boiler amidships.{{sfn|Claxton|1845|p=4, 6}}

In the aft section of the ship, the upper passenger deck contained the after or principal saloon, {{convert|110|ft|m|abbr=on}} long by {{convert|48|ft|m|abbr=on}} wide, which ran from just aft of the engine room to the stern. On each side of the saloon were corridors leading to 22 individual passenger berths, arranged two deep, a total of 44 berths for the saloon as a whole. The forward part of the saloon, nearest the engine room, contained two {{convert|17|x|14|ft|m|adj=on}} ladies' boudoirs or private sitting rooms, which could be accessed without entering the saloon from the 12 nearest passenger berths, reserved for women. The opposite end of the saloon opened onto the stern windows. Broad iron staircases at both ends of the saloon ran to the main deck above and the dining saloon below. The saloon was painted in "delicate tints", furnished along its length with fixed chairs of [[oak]], and supported by 12 decorated pillars.{{sfn|Claxton|1845|pp=14–17}}

Beneath the after saloon was the main or dining saloon, {{convert|98|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} long by {{convert|30|ft|m|abbr=on}} wide, with dining tables and chairs capable of accommodating up to 360 people at one sitting. On each side of the saloon, seven corridors opened onto four berths each, for a total number of berths per side of 28, or 56 altogether. The forward end of the saloon was connected to a stewards' galley, while the opposite end contained several tiers of sofas. This saloon was apparently the ship's most impressive of all the passenger spaces. Columns of white and gold, 24 in number, with "ornamental capitals of great beauty", were arranged down its length and along the walls, while eight [[Arabesque (European art)|Arabesque]] [[pilaster]]s, decorated with "beautifully painted" oriental flowers and birds, enhanced the aesthetic effect. The archways of the doors were "tastefully carved and gilded" and surmounted with medallion heads. Mirrors around the walls added an illusion of spaciousness, and the walls themselves were painted in a "delicate lemon-tinted hue" with highlights of blue and gold.{{sfn|Claxton|1845|pp=14–17}}

The two forward saloons were arranged in a similar plan to the after saloons, with the upper "promenade" saloon having 36 berths per side and the lower 30, totalling 132. Further forward, separate from the passenger saloons, were the crew quarters.{{sfn|Claxton|1845|pp=14–17}} The overall finish of the passenger quarters was unusually restrained for its time, a probable reflection of the proprietors' diminishing capital reserves.{{sfn|Fox|2003|p=153}} Total cost of construction of the ship, not including £53,000 for plant and equipment to build her, was £117,000{{sfn|Fox|2003|p=155}}—£47,000 more than her original projected price tag of £70,000.