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The White Swan Hotel in Alnwick, Northumberland houses the First Class Lounge and parts of the grand-staircase from the RMS Olympic, sister-ship of the Titanic. |
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Alnwick, Northumberland
The exterior of the White Swan Hotel in Alnwick, Northumberland holds a small plaque which states that "situated within this hotel is the first class lounge from the S.S. Olympic...twin ship to the legendary S.S. Titanic." Described in the Shipbuilder Special Number as "a noble apartment in the Louis Quinze style" and that "passengers will indulge in reading, conversation, cards, tea-drinking, and other social intercourse. The room...has a length of 59ft., a breadth of 63ft., and a height of no less than 12ft 3in. The walls are covered with finely carved boiseries in which, without interfering with the symmetry of the whole, the fancy of the carver has shown itself in ever-varying detail". The 1911 Shipbuilder Special Edition considered that "everything has been done in regard to the furniture and fittings to make the first-class accommodation more than equal to that provided in the finest hotels on shore." Speaking from my own experience, it is the strangest of sensations walking into the first-class lounge which now serves as the hotel restaurant. Though the layout of the room does not represent the exact layout as aboard ship, the impression is still magnificent. The carving of the paneling and columns, and around the mirror over the fireplace is rich and detailed. The room felt quite eerie when empty, and I imagined all the people who had spent time in that room. The room came to life when meals were served, and I had the pleasure of eating breakfast and an evening meal in that room. The hotel not only contains the first-class lounge but other fittings from the ship. The revolving door at the entrance to the hotel came from the Olympic as did the staircase, which formed part of one of the grand staircases. |