Belfast Part 2
June 5, 2023
. HM 221. Belfast 2 of 2. Titanic is Belfast!
As part of visiting the Port of Belfast, HM Kevin Allen showed us around the sumptuous offices of The Belfast Harbour Commissioners. It does a lot to explain just how rich the city had become by 1911 when the Titanic was launched.
In the entrance sits a dining room table built for the Titanic captain's private cabin. Late to be completed by the Harland and Wolff cabinet makers, it missed the first sailing and thus was saved. In 2009 the Antiques Roadshow valued it as "priceless"!
The history of the port began in 1606, which coincides with the start of the arrival of immigrants "loyal the crown" into Ulster, predominantly from Scotland and Northern England. (Google "Plantation of Ulster" and "Flight of the Earls").
Belfast Port did not take off until 1830 when the building of the "Victoria Channel" straightened and deepened the shallow entrance, allowing larger ships into the city centre. By 1847, the newly formed Belfast Harbour Commissioners started reclaiming land, and by 1880 the port was booming commercially and shipbuilding was thriving.
The significance of the Titanic to both the city and modern shipping practices cannot be overstated. The foundation of modern international maritime law, "Safety of Lives at Sea" Treaty (SOLAS), was established in 1914 after the disaster. For example: "Ships have to have enough lifeboats to carry every single passenger."
Titanic is the second largest ocean liner wreck in the world. (No 1 is Brittanic, her sister ship) and amazingly only two people survived the sinkings of both Titanic and Brittanic! Hundreds more amazing and unexpected facts are beautifully curated in an impressive visitor centre.
A huge thank you to Kevin for illuminating Belfast for us!
As part of visiting the Port of Belfast, HM Kevin Allen showed us around the sumptuous offices of The Belfast Harbour Commissioners. It does a lot to explain just how rich the city had become by 1911 when the Titanic was launched.
In the entrance sits a dining room table built for the Titanic captain's private cabin. Late to be completed by the Harland and Wolff cabinet makers, it missed the first sailing and thus was saved. In 2009 the Antiques Roadshow valued it as "priceless"!
The history of the port began in 1606, which coincides with the start of the arrival of immigrants "loyal the crown" into Ulster, predominantly from Scotland and Northern England. (Google "Plantation of Ulster" and "Flight of the Earls").
Belfast Port did not take off until 1830 when the building of the "Victoria Channel" straightened and deepened the shallow entrance, allowing larger ships into the city centre. By 1847, the newly formed Belfast Harbour Commissioners started reclaiming land, and by 1880 the port was booming commercially and shipbuilding was thriving.
The significance of the Titanic to both the city and modern shipping practices cannot be overstated. The foundation of modern international maritime law, "Safety of Lives at Sea" Treaty (SOLAS), was established in 1914 after the disaster. For example: "Ships have to have enough lifeboats to carry every single passenger."
Titanic is the second largest ocean liner wreck in the world. (No 1 is Brittanic, her sister ship) and amazingly only two people survived the sinkings of both Titanic and Brittanic! Hundreds more amazing and unexpected facts are beautifully curated in an impressive visitor centre.
A huge thank you to Kevin for illuminating Belfast for us!