The RMS Titanic is quite possibly the most famous ship in all of history. The ship made its fateful maiden voyage in 1912 but just some days into its journey it collided with an iceberg. The story is well-known and many will have learned about it through James Cameron’s 1997 epic Titanic, the movie adaptation which made over $2 billion around the world.
But what the film left out – and what many don’t know about the Titanic – is that the ship actually had a connection to Liverpool. It may have sailed from Southampton, but the Titanic’s Liverpudlian origins are a huge boon to the city to this day.
Liverpool’s Titanic History
It’s a little-known fact that the RMS Titanic called Liverpool its home port. Built by the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company (White Star Line), which was itself founded in Liverpool, it made sense for the ship to officially be a Liverpool native too.
As such, there are many features of the ship that bore references to the Merseyside city. For example, the ship’s huge kitchen ranges were made by Henry Wilson and Company of Cornhill Works, Liverpool. The passageway that connected the ship’s crew quarters was also called Scotland Road, in reference to the Liverpool location.
And many of the ship’s staff were from Liverpool and the surrounding areas. Everyone from Fred Clarke, the violinist who continued to play as the ship went down, to Captain Smith who lived in the Merseyside area for 40 years before moving to Southampton in 1908. Fred Fleet, the lookout who spotted the iceberg, was also from Liverpool.
How People Can Experience the Titanic Today
Although the Titanic may have sunk over 100 years ago, people today can still learn about the ship and its connection to Liverpool, and not just through the medium of the James Cameron movie!
The Merseyside Maritime Museum hosts a Titanic and Liverpool exhibition containing several relevant artefacts. These include the builder’s model, the porthole casting pattern, and a lifeboat nameplate. Promising “unique insights,” the free entry exhibition is an ideal way for tourists and locals alike to learn about the often-untold history between the ship and the city.
For a less sombre affair, there are games based on the Titanic that offer people a more lighthearted way of learning than by reading historic letters. In addition to Titanic-related mystery games that allow players to explore the ship, there are also Titanic slot games based on the iconic movie, complete with the impressive music behind it.
Titanic For Tourists
The city of Liverpool also benefits from the Titanic through tourism, with the Titanic Hotel Liverpool being based at the Stanley Docks, which is where the ship called home. From this hotel, those who book in can also get views across the Port of Liverpool, which is certainly one way to get in some superb sightseeing!
Few may know about Liverpool’s connection to the Titanic, but that makes the history no less interesting or important. The city is proud of its shipbuilding roots and the Titanic, it’s clear, is very much a part of that.