CITY GUIDE: BELFAST

BELFAST’S TITANIC LEGACY

On the tenth anniversary of its opening, we revisit Titanic Belfast, which tells the story of the ‘unsinkable’ ship and the city that built it

WORDS NATASHA FOGES

“We have had a wonderful passage up to now. There has been no tempest. It is very nice weather but awfully windy and cold.” Esther Hart, from Ilford, Essex, penned a letter to her mother from the Titanic on Sunday, April 14, 1912, just hours before the liner struck an iceberg and sank to a watery grave. Esther and her daughter Eva escaped the disaster in a lifeboat, but there was no room for Esther’s husband Benjamin, who went down with the ship.

Titanic Belfast, the city’s landmark attraction, is full of such heartbreaking stories. The location of the building itself, which was constructed ten years ago to commemorate the centenary of the sinking, immediately captures the imagination: it stands alongside the slipways where the Titanic was built, and towers above the River Lagan where she was launched. The silvery structure, glinting to resemble rippling waves (or a giant iceberg, perhaps) is 38 metres tall, the same as the hull of the Titanic, its four corners jutting out to echo the hulls of ships.

Inside, nine galleries chronicle the life of the liner. The journey begins in boomtown Belfast, which clanged with industry in the mid-19th century, from linen mills to ropeworks to the Belfast docks. It was in the Belfast shipyards that Harland & Wolff, the world’s largest shipbuilding firm, partnered with White Star Line, the prestigious shipping line, to create a ship that would set a new benchmark of excellence in naval architecture.

In one of the galleries, a ride takes you through a reconstructed shipyard, surrounded by a cacophony of hammering, drilling and the shouts of dockworkers – a din that could be heard across the city. When the Titanic was built, she was the pride of Belfast, and 100,000 people gathered on the banks of the Lagan to cheer as she was launched from the slipway on 31 May 1911. Having passed this critical first test, she was fitted out – a task that took more than 3,000 Belfast men ten months to complete.

Reconstructed cabins show the luxury to which First Class passengers were treated: the finest rooms had wood panelling, carved oak bedsteads, carpeted floors and a bell to summon a steward. Third Class passengers, meanwhile – mostly emigrants heading to America in search of a better life – had basic bunk beds in up to ten-berth cabins.

On 2 April 1912 at 8pm, the Titanic left Belfast on its maiden voyage. The ship arrived in Southampton – then Britain’s leading transatlantic port – on 4 April, where it was dressed with flags to greet its first passengers. The ship was loaded with provisions for the voyage, including 40,000 eggs and 15,000 bottles of ale. On 10 April, it arrived at Cherbourg, France, to pick up more passengers, many of whom were wealthy Americans at the end of their European tour. The Titanic sailed for New York on 10 April with 2,223 passengers and crew on board. Just a few days into the voyage, on the night of the 14 April, the ship struck an iceberg at high speed. A sombre gallery evokes the panic of the following minutes and hours with displays of the increasingly desperate wireless distress calls. As the only firstperson, real-time record we have of the tragedy, it is one of the most poignant parts of the museum. “Come quick. Engine

“Come quick. room nearly full”

Engine room was the last message sent out, just a few nearly full” was minutes before the Titanic broke in two the last message and disappeared sent out, just a few beneath the icy waters, causing the minutes before the deaths of 1,517 people. The ship was ship disappeared carrying lifeboats for only 1,178 people, many of which were not full when they left. Inquiries were held into how the ship hailed as ‘unsinkable’ had ended up at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Theories ranged from the speed at which the ship was travelling to the lack of binoculars for the ship’s lookout boys, and the fact that it had not heeded warnings of “bergs, growlers and field ice”, as one ship’s captain described them. Fortunately for the people of Belfast, a city that relied heavily on its shipbuilding industry, it was not the construction of the Titanic that was called into question, but, concluded the British Inquiry, “the excessive speed at which the ship was being navigated”.

Despite this, it took a long time for Belfast to come to terms with the tragedy, which was felt by many as an almost personal loss. In 2012, the centenary year of the disaster, however, the Titanic became a unifying symbol, and the opening of Titanic Belfast a catalyst for a different kind of industry: tourism.

Clockwise from top left: The statue on Titanic Belfast's plaza, Titanica, was designed by artist Rowan Gillespie; the Titanic's tender ship, the SS Nomadic sits at Hamilton dock; visitors can explore the last-remaining White Star Line ship; the Titanic Hotel is located in the old Harland & Wolff headquarters

There are now a number of Titanic sights and tours around town, and the enduring fascination of the story draws people from all over the world. Next to Titanic Belfast is the SS Nomadic, one of the tenders that ferried passengers from the Cherbourg quayside to the Titanic, and the last remaining White Star Line ship in the world. Restored to her 1911 glory, with ornate plasterwork and the original wooden bar, the Nomadic has four decks to explore. Stepping on board gives you a real sense of the contrast between the separated class areas on board, and allows you to see up close the luxurious nishes that her sister ship was known for.

The surrounding ‘Titanic Quarter’ has been regenerated in the last decade, though you can still trace much of the original design and features of the shipyards. Harland & Wolff remains a signi cant business in Belfast, though it now builds wind turbines rather than transatlantic liners. Its yellow gantry cranes, known as Samson and Goliath, are a famous Belfast landmark, dominating the skyline.

The old Harland & Wolff headquarters are now the ve-star Titanic Hotel, and the grand, vaulted Drawing Of ces, where the ship was designed, now house the hotel’s restaurant. The old Pump House, meanwhile, next to the dry dock from which the Titanic was launched, is being transformed into a whiskey distillery and tourist attraction.

The Titanic trail continues at Belfast City Hall in the heart of town. Here, in a garden whose planting mirrors the colours of ice and water, is a memorial plinth listing, in alphabetical order, the names of the 1,512 people that perished. Unveiled to mark the centenary of the disaster, it is the only memorial in the world to commemorate all of the victims, passengers and crew alike.

The nal stop on the trail is the Ulster Transport Museum, seven miles outside Belfast, where the TITANICa exhibition uses more than 500 artefacts to tell the ship’s story, from the tools owned by a Harland & Wolff shipwright to White Star Line tickets and memorial postcards.

Even 110 years after the disaster, the story of the Titanic still fascinates and horri es us. The tale of human progress and pride quashed in such a dramatic way, and the stories of toil, tragedy and heroism, have not faded with the passing of the years. Although the tragedy undeniably cast a long shadow over Belfast, the city’s Titanic legacy is something of which it can, once again, be proud.

Clockwise from top: The Titanic was the pride of Belfast in 1911; the Ulster Transport Museum's exhibition holds more than 500 ship artefacts, including this White Star Line's captain's hat; this tea set is also on display

TRAVEL ESSENTIALS

GETTING THERE Belfast has two airports. City Airport is a 10-minute drive from Titanic Belfast, while the International Airport is a 30-minute drive. The Titanic Quarter is a 25-minute walk from the city centre. www.belfastcityairport.com; www.belfastairport.com

WHERE TO STAY AND EAT The Titanic Hotel, set in Harland & Wolff’s former headquarters, is just a stone’s throw from Titanic Belfast. Memorabilia and original pieces, such as the mahogany drawing table of Thomas Andrews, the Titanic’s chief naval architect, give it a sense of history. The Wolff Grill, in the original Drawing Office No. 2, is an inviting place for dinner, with refined dishes such as seabass with spiced red grape, clams and roast hazelnut. www.titanichotelbelfast.com

TICKETS AND TOURS Titanic Belfast and the SS Nomadic are open year-round; a joint ticket gets you into both. The Discovery Tour, booked through the museum, is a guided outdoor walk through the historic area around Titanic Belfast. Titanic Tours Belfast offer a 3-hour tour that includes the lesser-known sights, led by the descendant of a Titanic crew member. www.titanicbelfast.com; titanictours-belfast.co.uk

iFURTHER INFORMATION www.ireland.com