117-581: Lucy Noël Martha Leslie, Countess of Rothes ( née Dyer-Edwardes ; 25 December 1878 – 12 September 1956) was a British philanthropist and social leader. She was seen as a heroine of the Titanic disaster, famous for taking the tiller of her lifeboat and later helping row the craft to the safety of the rescue ship Carpathia . The countess was for many years a popular figure in London society, known for her blonde beauty, bright personality, graceful dancing and
234-508: A Victorian-style Turkish bath which comprised hot room, warm (temperate) room, cooling-room, and two shampooing (massage) rooms. Complementing the Turkish bath, and within the same area, was a steam room and an electric bath . First-class common rooms were impressive in scope and lavishly decorated. They included a lounge in the style of the Palace of Versailles , an enormous reception room,
351-686: A lasting legacy in popular culture . RMS Titanic was the largest ship afloat upon entering service and the second of three Olympic -class ocean liners built for the White Star Line. The ship was built by the Harland and Wolff shipbuilding company in Belfast . Thomas Andrews Jr. , the chief naval architect of the shipyard, died in the disaster. Titanic was under the command of Captain Edward John Smith , who went down with
468-471: A propeller . The two reciprocating engines had a combined output of 30,000 horsepower (22,000 kW ). The output of the steam turbine was 16,000 horsepower (12,000 kW). The White Star Line had used the same combination of engines on an earlier liner, Laurentic , where it had been a great success. It provided a good combination of performance and speed; reciprocating engines by themselves were not powerful enough to propel an Olympic -class liner at
585-521: A 24-hour schedule, primarily sending and receiving passenger telegrams ("marconigrams"), but also handling navigation messages including weather reports and ice warnings. The radio room was located on the Boat Deck, in the officers' quarters. A soundproofed "Silent Room", next to the operating room, housed loud equipment, including the transmitter and a motor-generator used for producing alternating currents. The operators' living quarters were adjacent to
702-453: A capacity of 40 people each. Olympic carried at least two collapsible boats on either side of the number one funnel. All of the lifeboats were stowed securely on the boat deck and, except for collapsible lifeboats A and B, connected to davits by ropes. Those on the starboard side were odd-numbered 1–15 from bow to stern, while those on the port side were even-numbered 2–16 from bow to stern. Both cutters were kept swung out, hanging from
819-413: A claim for $ 100,000 (equivalent to $ 2,300,000 in 2023) in compensation for the loss of the artwork. Other intriguing items in the manifest included 12 cases of ostrich feathers, 76 cases of "Dragon's Blood," and 16 cases of calabashes. Titanic was equipped with eight electric cranes, four electric winches and three steam winches to lift cargo and baggage in and out of the holds. It is estimated that
936-667: A club for young girls employed in Falkland factories, funded a clinic in the parish of Kinglassie , and planned parties for the 2nd Battalion of the Highland Light Infantry . Noël's success as a patroness of philanthropic causes owed to her energetic personality and organizational skills but also to her popularity as a hostess, her beauty, and her friendships with members of the British Royal Family and aristocracy, including H.R.H. Princess Louise and
1053-460: A correspondence until her death. The number plate is now in the possession of the Countess' grandson Alastair Leslie. The family also re-acquired Jones' watch when it was auctioned by his family after his death. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution ’s Fraserburgh Lifeboat, introduced to service in 1915, was christened Lady Rothes . The lifeboat was provided as a gift from Thomas Dyer-Edwardes,
1170-497: A day due to bad weather, but by Monday morning it was clear and fair. Aboard were 78 stokers, greasers and firemen, and 41 members of crew. No domestic staff appear to have been aboard. Representatives of various companies travelled on Titanic ' s sea trials: Thomas Andrews and Edward Wilding of Harland and Wolff, and Harold A. Sanderson of IMM. Bruce Ismay and Lord Pirrie were too ill to attend. Jack Phillips and Harold Bride served as radio operators and performed fine-tuning of
1287-512: A draught of 34 feet 7 inches (10.54 m) and displaced 52,310 tonnes. All three of the Olympic -class ships had ten decks (excluding the top of the officers' quarters), eight of which were for passenger use. From top to bottom, the decks were: Titanic propulsion was supplied by three main engines—two reciprocating four- cylinder , triple-expansion steam engines and one centrally placed low-pressure Parsons turbine —each driving
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#17328013192881404-505: A further 1,092 tonnes in Hold 3. The furnaces required over 600 tonnes of coal a day to be shovelled into them by hand, requiring the services of 176 firemen working around the clock. 100 tonnes of ash a day had to be disposed of by ejecting it into the sea. The work was relentless, dirty and dangerous, and although firemen were paid relatively well, there was a high suicide rate among those who worked in that capacity. Exhaust steam leaving
1521-508: A further 195 tonnes. They were powered by steam produced in 29 boilers, 24 of which were double-ended and five single-ended, which contained a total of 159 furnaces. The boilers were 15 feet 9 inches (4.80 m) in diameter and 20 feet (6.1 m) long, each weighing 91.5 tonnes and capable of holding 48.5 tonnes of water. They were fuelled by burning coal, 6,611 tonnes of which could be carried in Titanic ' s bunkers , with
1638-629: A home in Hove , Sussex , they lived most of the year at the Macfie estate, Fayre Court in Fairford , Gloucestershire . In her last years Noël was interviewed by author Walter Lord for his account of the Titanic disaster, A Night to Remember , which brought her story to a new generation on its publication in 1955. Noël, Countess of Rothes died in her home in Hove , Sussex , on 12 September 1956, having suffered for some time from heart disease. She
1755-481: A men's smoking room, and a reading and writing room. There was an à la carte restaurant in the style of the Ritz Hotel which was run as a concession by the famous Italian restaurateur Gaspare Gatti . A Café Parisien decorated in the style of a French sidewalk café, complete with ivy-covered trellises and wicker furniture, was run as an annex to the restaurant. For an extra cost, first-class passengers could enjoy
1872-463: A number of mobile cranes. A separate floating crane, capable of lifting 200 tonnes, was brought in from Germany. The construction of Olympic and Titanic took place virtually in parallel, with Olympic ' s keel laid down first on 16 December 1908 and Titanic ' s on 31 March 1909. Both ships took about 26 months to build and followed much the same construction process. They were designed essentially as an enormous floating box girder , with
1989-479: A passenger would "at once lose the feeling that we are on board ship, and seem instead to be entering the hall of some great house on shore". Cabins in First Class also contained buttons that, when pressed, would signal for a steward to come to the cabin. Among the more novel features available to first-class passengers was a 7 ft (2.1 m) deep saltwater swimming pool, a gymnasium, a squash court, and
2106-522: A prominent land-owning and political family. Her husband was a soldier in World War I and is best remembered for his tenure as Secretary of State for Air in the 1930s, preserving the Royal Air Force against cuts, and for his praise of Nazi Germany in the 1930s. He was forced out of the government in 1935 and never returned. Together, they were the parents of five children: On the death of
2223-494: A spare life belt. Lifeline ropes on the boats' sides enabled them to save additional people from the water if necessary. Titanic had 16 sets of davits, each able to handle three lifeboats, unlike what Carslile had hoped. This gave Titanic the ability to carry up to 48 wooden lifeboats. However, the White Star Line decided that only 16 wooden lifeboats and four collapsibles would be carried, which could accommodate 1,178 people, only one-third of Titanic 's total capacity. At
2340-485: A sweeping curve, the staircase descended through seven decks of the ship, between the boat deck to E deck, before terminating in a simplified single flight on F Deck. It was capped with a dome of wrought iron and glass that admitted natural light to the stairwell. Each landing off the staircase gave access to ornate entrance halls panelled in the William & Mary style and lit by ormolu and crystal light fixtures. At
2457-498: A temporary pause in work occasioned by the need to repair Olympic , which had been in a collision in September 1911. Had Titanic been finished earlier, the ship might well have missed colliding with an iceberg. Titanic ' s sea trials began at 6 am on Tuesday, 2 April 1912, just two days after the fitting out was finished and eight days before departure from Southampton on the maiden voyage. The trials were delayed for
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#17328013192882574-415: A total diameter of 23.5 feet (7.2 m). The middle propeller was slightly smaller at 17 feet (5.2 m) in diameter, and could be stopped but not reversed. Titanic ' s electrical plant was capable of producing more power than an average city power station of the time. Immediately aft of the turbine engine were four 400 kW steam-driven electric generators, used to provide electrical power to
2691-706: A volunteer force formed of women replacing the men who had left work and gone up to the Front . The WVR was established in December 1914 in response to German bombing raids on East Coast towns during the First World War Lady Londonderry also aided with the organisation of the Officers' Hospital set up in her house , and was the first woman to be appointed to be a Dame Commander of the Order of
2808-578: A weekly service with only three ships instead of the original four. Olympic and Titanic would replace RMS Teutonic of 1889, RMS Majestic of 1890 and RMS Adriatic of 1907. RMS Oceanic first departed from a new home port in June 1907 along with the Teutonic , Majestic , and the new Adriatic on the Southampton-New York run. The ships were constructed by
2925-510: A young Spanish newlywed, María Josefa Peñasco y Castellana, whose husband was lost in the sinking. There she remained for the duration of the night, rowing all the while and helping to boost the morale of other women until their lifeboat was picked up by the RMS ; Carpathia early the next morning. When the Carpathia was sighted, cheers went up and several in their boat started to sing
3042-664: Is to take the common things of life and walk truly among them. Happiness is a great love and much serving." Noël was portrayed in the 1979 television movie SOS Titanic by Kate Howard; in James Cameron 's 1997 film Titanic by Rochelle Rose; and in Julian Fellowes 's 2012 mini-series Titanic by Pandora Colin. She is also mentioned in the first episode of the British TV series Downton Abbey (also produced by Julian Fellowes) as having spent some time with
3159-578: The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam , was valued at only £405 (£50,600 today). According to the claims for compensation filed with Commissioner Gilchrist, following the conclusion of the Senate Inquiry, the single most highly valued item of luggage or cargo was a large neoclassical oil painting entitled La Circassienne au Bain by French artist Merry-Joseph Blondel . The painting's owner, first-class passenger Mauritz Håkan Björnström-Steffansson , filed
3276-520: The English Channel and make a port of call on the northern coast of France, usually at Cherbourg . This allowed British ships to pick up clientele from continental Europe before recrossing the channel and picking up passengers at Queenstown. The Southampton-Cherbourg-New York run would become so popular that most British ocean liners began using the port after World War I . Out of respect for Liverpool, ships continued to be registered there until
3393-617: The Philip Bliss hymn "Pull for the Shore." Afterwards, Noël suggested " Lead, Kindly Light ": "Lead, kindly light, amid the encircling gloom/Lead thou me on!/The night is dark, and I'm far from home/Lead thou me on!" Once aboard the rescue vessel, she devoted herself to the care of steerage women and children from the Titanic . As an account in the London Daily Sketch would record: "Her Ladyship helped to make clothes for
3510-589: The Red Cross , establishing a branch in Leslie and endowing it with three ambulances. This led to a larger ambulance corps serving Fife, called the Countess of Rothes Voluntary Aid Detachment. That year she also underwent training herself as a nurse. Despite her busy work for national charities, Noël remained devoted to the welfare of local citizens. Along with holding village Christmas parties in Leslie, she established
3627-926: The Royal Caledonian Schools . The countess was also active for a number of years in fundraising for the Queen Victoria School, the Randolph Wemyss Memorial Hospital and the Chelsea Hospital for Women. In addition, she served on the organizing or fundraising committees for such agencies as the Princess Mary Scholarship at Cedars College for Blind Girls, the YMCA Bazaar, The Children's Guild, the Deptford Fund and
Noël Leslie, Countess of Rothes - Misplaced Pages Continue
3744-404: The Titanic collided with an iceberg at 11:40 p.m. on the night of 14 April. The pair was awakened by the crash and went up on deck to investigate. They were instructed by Captain E.J. Smith , the Titanic' s commander, to return to their cabin and don lifejackets. Noël, Gladys and Noël's maid were rescued in lifeboat 8 , which was lowered at approximately 1:00 a.m., over an hour after
3861-773: The estimated 2,224 passengers and crew aboard, approximately 1,500 died (figures vary), making the incident one of the deadliest peacetime sinkings of a single ship . Titanic , operated by the White Star Line , carried some of the wealthiest people in the world, as well as hundreds of emigrants from the British Isles , Scandinavia , and elsewhere in Europe who were seeking a new life in the United States and Canada. The disaster drew public attention, spurred major changes in maritime safety regulations, and inspired
3978-416: The keel acting as a backbone and the frames of the hull forming the ribs. At the base of the ships, a double bottom 5 feet 3 inches (1.60 m) deep supported 300 frames, each between 24 inches (61 cm) and 36 inches (91 cm) apart and measuring up to about 66 feet (20 m) long. They terminated at the bridge deck (B Deck) and were covered with steel plates which formed the outer skin of
4095-453: The metallurgy of steelmaking . As for the rivets, considerable emphasis has also been placed on their quality and strength. Two side anchors and a centre anchor were among the last items to be fitted on Titanic before it launched. The anchors were a challenge to make; the centre anchor was the largest ever forged by hand. The head weighed nearly 16 tonnes and the shank another 8. Twenty Clydesdale draught horses were needed to haul
4212-780: The 1920s, Lady Londonderry created the gardens at the Londonderry family estate of Mount Stewart , near Newtownards , County Down . Supported by Derbyshire born Head Gardener Thomas Bolas, she added the Shamrock Garden, the Sunken Garden, increased the size of the lake, added a Spanish Garden with a small hut, the Italian Garden, the Dodo Terrace, Menagerie, the Fountain Pool and laid out walks in
4329-428: The 1990s, material scientists concluded that the steel plate used for the ship was subject to being especially brittle when cold, and that this brittleness exacerbated the impact damage and hastened the sinking. It is believed that, by the standards of the time, the steel plate's quality was good, not faulty, but that it was inferior to what would be used for shipbuilding purposes in later decades, owing to advances in
4446-535: The Belfast shipbuilder Harland & Wolff , which had a long-established relationship with the White Star Line dating back to 1867. Harland and Wolff were given a great deal of latitude in designing ships for the White Star Line; the usual approach was for Wilhelm Wolff to sketch a general concept, which Edward James Harland would turn into a ship design. Cost considerations were a relatively low priority; Harland & Wolff were authorised to spend what it needed on
4563-667: The British Empire in the Military Division, upon the Order's establishment in 1917. Lady Londonderry's friendship with Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald , although platonic, was a source of gossip in her time and has since become an iconic friendship of English social history. In 1935 she helped to establish the Women's Gas Council , as its first president, assisted by organising secretary Katherine Halpin. When her father-in-law died in 1915, her husband inherited
4680-565: The Coronation Garden Party later in 1911 at Devonshire House where she performed in a minuet that opened the festivity. The countess was politically active. Although a Conservative, she supported the women's suffrage cause as a member of the Women's Unionist Association , chairing local chapters of the group at Markinch and in Leslie. She also opposed socialist initiatives and the proposed reform of Irish Home Rule . Perhaps her finest achievement in service to others
4797-501: The Crawley family shortly before boarding the Titanic. Upon hearing of the disaster, the character of Cora, Countess of Grantham remarks; "Isn't this terrible? When you think how excited Lucy Rothes was at the prospect.'" RMS Titanic RMS Titanic was a British ocean liner that sank on 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton , England, to New York City , United States. Of
Noël Leslie, Countess of Rothes - Misplaced Pages Continue
4914-461: The Duchess of Wellington . She was an exceptionally adept dancer and amateur actress which she demonstrated at the entertainments she either hosted or organized for charity. Among these were a 1910 pageant at Falkland Palace , which she not only directed but appeared in; the "Tally Ho!" Ball the following year at Edinburgh's Musical Hall, where she danced in a special quadrille reel named for her; and
5031-505: The G, F, and E decks. These doors required a small key to be placed into a slot on the deck above. Once the key was turned, the watertight door would close. The ship's exposed decking was made of pine and teak , while interior ceilings were covered in painted granulated cork to combat condensation. Standing above the decks were four funnels, each painted in the White Star buff with black tops; only three were functional—the aftmost one
5148-790: The Hurlingham Fete, Fair and Sports, benefiting wounded soldiers, in 1918. Noël Rothes is best known as a heroine of the 1912 Titanic tragedy, helping to command her lifeboat, in concert with Able Seaman Thomas William (Tom) Jones. Noël handled the tiller of the boat, steering it clear of the sinking liner, and later assisted in rowing it to the rescue ship, all the while encouraging other survivors with her calm decisiveness and optimism. She embarked at Southampton on 10 April with her parents, Thomas and Clementina Dyer-Edwardes, her husband's cousin Gladys Cherry, and her maid Roberta Maioni. Her parents disembarked at Cherbourg , while
5265-715: The Lily Wood and rest of the estate. This dramatic change led to the gardens being proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site . She was a patron of the botanist and plant collector Frank Kingdon-Ward . After she created her garden and the death of her husband, she gave the gardens to the National Trust in 1957. They are regarded by Heritage Island as being one of the best gardens in Britain and Ireland. On 28 November 1899, she married Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh . They were both 21. She married into
5382-653: The Marconi equipment. Francis Carruthers, a surveyor from the Board of Trade, was also present to see that everything worked and that the ship was fit to carry passengers. The sea trials consisted of a number of tests of handling characteristics, carried out first in Belfast Lough and then in the open waters of the Irish Sea . Over the course of about 12 hours, Titanic was driven at different speeds, turning ability
5499-597: The Village Clubs Association. She also assisted the Duchess of Sutherland in planning costume balls and garden parties in aid of the National Milk Hostels which provided "wholesome milk for poor families." Noël was joined in her charity work by other leading figures in London society, including Lady Londonderry , the Duchess of Devonshire , the Duchess of Marlborough and Lady Juliet Duff. In 1911 Noël began her long association with
5616-553: The White Star Line to offer weekly sailings in each direction. Special trains were scheduled from London and Paris to convey passengers to Southampton and Cherbourg respectively. The deep-water dock at Southampton, then known as the " White Star Dock " , had been specially constructed to accommodate the new Olympic -class liners, and had opened in 1911. Edith Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Marchioness of Londonderry Edith Helen Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Marchioness of Londonderry , DBE ( née Chaplin ; 3 December 1878 – 23 April 1959)
5733-410: The White Star Line; naval architect Thomas Andrews , the managing director of Harland and Wolff's design department; Edward Wilding, Andrews's deputy and responsible for calculating the ship's design, stability and trim; and Alexander Carlisle , the shipyard's chief draughtsman and general manager. Carlisle's responsibilities included the decorations, equipment, and all general arrangements, including
5850-580: The aid of the Royal Navy , had recently launched the twin sister ships Lusitania and Mauretania , the fastest passenger ships then in service—and the German lines Hamburg America and Norddeutscher Lloyd . Ismay preferred to compete on size rather than speed and proposed to commission a new class of liners larger than anything that had come before, which would be the last word in comfort and luxury. The new ships would have sufficient speed to maintain
5967-432: The babies and became known amongst the crew as the 'plucky little countess.'" The newspaper added that a stewardess told Noël, "You have made yourself famous by rowing in the boat," to which she replied, "I hope not. I have done nothing." Noël did not welcome the publicity that proclaimed her a heroine, insisting it was the cool-headed leadership of Seaman Jones and the combined aid of her cousin-in-law and other occupants in
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#17328013192886084-405: The boat that night that deserved praise. As a token of her esteem, she presented Jones with an inscribed silver pocket watch; she also gave one to Steward Alfred Crawford in recognition for his assistance at the oars, rowing "doggedly for five hours." Jones later returned the largesse by gifting her the brass number plate from their lifeboat. Noël wrote to Jones every Christmas, and the two maintained
6201-479: The bride's name "Noëlle," and she periodically adopted this spelling herself, the family today prefers "Noël," as it appears on her birth certificate. The Countess 's husband held one of the oldest peerages in the United Kingdom, dating to before 1457, and was elected a Scottish representative peer , a position he held between 1906 and 1923. The Leslie family earldom was also one of the few which recognized
6318-636: The centre anchor by wagon from the Noah Hingley & Sons Ltd forge shop in Netherton, near Dudley, United Kingdom to the Dudley railway station two miles away. It was then shipped by rail to Fleetwood in Lancashire before boarding a ship to Belfast. Constructing the ships was difficult and dangerous. Safety precautions were rudimentary at best for the 15,000 men who worked at Harland and Wolff at
6435-596: The collision. The boat was launched simultaneously with Lifeboat 6 but reached the water first, making it the first lifeboat afloat on the port side of the ship. Tom Jones, the Able Seaman placed in charge of the boat by Captain Smith, later said Rothes "had a lot to say, so I put her to steering the boat," a roundabout compliment to her leadership abilities. She took charge of the tiller, steering for over an hour before asking Gladys to take over while she stopped to comfort
6552-431: The company's founding in 1845, a vast majority of their operations had taken place from Liverpool. However, in 1907 White Star Line established another service from Southampton on England's south coast, which became known as White Star's "Express Service". Southampton had many advantages over Liverpool, the first being its proximity to London. In addition, Southampton, being on the south coast, allowed ships to easily cross
6669-701: The countess' father, in gratitude for his daughter's rescue from the Titanic . In 1918 an exhibition at the Grafton Galleries in London, benefiting the Red Cross, included a pair of pearls from the 300-year-old heirloom necklace Noël wore when she escaped the Titanic . After Norman Rothes died on March 29, 1927, Noël remarried on 22 December 1927, to Colonel Claud Macfie, DSO, in the courthouse in Chelsea, London . The countess retained her title. The couple had no children. While Noël and Claud maintained
6786-456: The couple kept homes in England, including a townhouse in Chelsea, London , they lived most of each year at their Scottish estate. The earl and countess shared a wide range of sporting interests, from hunting to cricket, and were active socially, attending royal and other social functions. They were frequently mentioned in the daily press, and Noël Rothes, in particular, was often photographed in
6903-432: The davits, ready for immediate use, while collapsible lifeboats C and D were stowed on the boat deck (connected to davits) immediately inboard of boats 1 and 2 respectively. A and B were stored on the roof of the officers' quarters, on either side of number 1 funnel. There were no davits to lower them and their weight would make them difficult to launch by hand. Each boat carried (among other things) food, water, blankets, and
7020-607: The death of her mother in 1881, Edith was raised largely at Dunrobin Castle , Sutherland , the estate of her maternal grandfather , the third Duke of Sutherland . In 1903 she was one of the founding members and member of the first committee of the Ladies Automobile Club . In 1914, after the outbreak of World War I , she was appointed the Colonel-in-Chief of the Women's Volunteer Reserve (WVR),
7137-458: The desired speeds, while turbines were sufficiently powerful but caused uncomfortable vibrations, a problem that affected the all-turbine Cunard liners Lusitania and Mauretania . By combining reciprocating engines with a turbine, fuel usage could be reduced and motive power increased, while using the same amount of steam. The two reciprocating engines were each 63 feet (19 m) long and weighed 720 tonnes, with their bedplates contributing
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#17328013192887254-842: The diligence with which she helped organise lavish entertainments patronised by British royalty and members of the nobility. She was long involved in charity work throughout the United Kingdom, most notably assisting the Red Cross with fundraising and as a nurse for the Coulter Hospital in London during the First World War . Lady Rothes was also a leading benefactor of the Queen Victoria School and The Chelsea Hospital for Women, known today as Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital . Born in her parents' townhouse in Kensington, London , on Christmas Day 1878, she
7371-446: The early 1960s. Queen Elizabeth 2 was one of the first ships registered in Southampton when introduced into service by Cunard in 1969. Titanic ' s maiden voyage was intended to be the first of many trans-Atlantic crossings between Southampton and New York via Cherbourg and Queenstown on westbound runs, returning via Plymouth in England while eastbound. The entire schedule of voyages through to December 1912 still exists. When
7488-571: The finest French haute cuisine in the most luxurious of surroundings. There was also a Verandah Café where tea and light refreshments were served, that offered grand views of the ocean. At 114 ft (35 m) long by 92 ft (28 m) wide, the dining saloon on D Deck, designed by Charles Fitzroy Doll , was the largest room afloat and could seat almost 600 passengers at a time. Third Class (commonly referred to as steerage ) accommodations aboard Titanic were not as luxurious as First or Second Class but were better than on many other ships of
7605-440: The force of the inrushing water on the set. It has been suggested that during the real event, the entire Grand Staircase was ejected upwards through the dome. Although Titanic was primarily a passenger liner, the ship also carried a substantial amount of cargo. Under the designation of Royal Mail Ship (RMS), Titanic carried mail under contract with the Royal Mail (and also for the United States Post Office Department ). For
7722-434: The illustrated weeklies in London. Lord and Lady Rothes had two children: In 1916 the earl was wounded in action in France during the First World War and recovered at the Coulter Hospital in London. He was promoted to the rank of colonel in 1918. She became well known for her prolific charitable work in England and Scotland. One of her first projects was helping arrange the Royal Caledonian Ball which annually benefited
7839-429: The implementation of an efficient lifeboat davit design. On 29 July 1908, Harland and Wolff presented the drawings to J. Bruce Ismay and other White Star Line executives. Ismay approved the design and signed three "letters of agreement" two days later, authorising the start of construction. At this point, the first ship—which was later to become Olympic —had no name but was referred to simply as "Number 400", as it
7956-431: The largest ever constructed up to that time, to accommodate both ships. Their construction was facilitated by an enormous gantry built by Sir William Arrol & Co. , a Scottish firm responsible for the building of the Forth Bridge and London's Tower Bridge . The Arrol Gantry stood 228 feet (69 m) high, was 270 feet (82 m) wide and 840 feet (260 m) long and weighed more than 6,000 tonnes. It accommodated
8073-405: The launch, a worker was killed when a piece of wood fell on him. Titanic was launched at 12:15 pm on 31 May 1911 in the presence of Lord Pirrie, J. Pierpont Morgan, J. Bruce Ismay and 100,000 onlookers. Twenty-two tonnes of soap and tallow were spread on the slipway to lubricate the ship's passage into the River Lagan . In keeping with the White Star Line's traditional policy, the ship
8190-450: The lifeboats might have been able to ferry all passengers to safety as planned. The sheer size of the Olympic class vessels posed a major engineering challenge for Harland and Wolff; no shipbuilder had ever before attempted to construct vessels this size. The ships were constructed on Queen's Island, now known as the Titanic Quarter , in Belfast Harbour . Harland and Wolff had to demolish three existing slipways and build two new ones,
8307-413: The original configuration have stated that the full carrying capacity for passengers and crew was approximately 3,547. The ship's interior design was a departure from that of other passenger liners, which had typically been decorated in the style of a manor house or an English country house . Titanic was laid out in a much lighter style similar to that of contemporary high-class hotels—the Ritz Hotel
8424-495: The others continued, en route for New York and possibly Vancouver, British Columbia to meet the Earl of Rothes who was already visiting the U.S. and Canada on business. Before the Titanic left Southampton, Noël granted an interview to a London correspondent for The New York Herald in which she explained she was going to the U.S. to join her husband. She admitted they were also personally interested in purchasing an orange grove on
8541-460: The reciprocating engines was fed into the turbine, which was situated aft. From there it passed into a surface condenser , to increase the efficiency of the turbine and so that the steam could be condensed back into water and reused. The engines were attached directly to long shafts which drove the propellers. There were three, one for each engine; the outer (or wing) propellers were the largest, each carrying three blades of manganese-bronze alloy with
8658-515: The remainder of the crew. Both Olympic and Titanic registered Liverpool as their home port. The offices of the White Star Line, as well as Cunard, were in Liverpool, and up until the introduction of the Olympic , most British ocean liners for both Cunard and White Star, such as Lusitania and Mauretania , sailed from Liverpool followed by a port of call in Queenstown, Ireland . Since
8775-812: The right of descent through female heirs. The Clan Leslie motto is "Grip Fast." Lord Rothes was a captain in the Fife Royal Garrison Artillery Militia, a lieutenant in the Royal Highland Regiment , known as the Black Watch, and a lieutenant-colonel in the Highland Cyclist Battalion. The Leslies resided in England until 1904 when they took possession of the 10,000-acre family seat in Scotland, Leslie House in Leslie, Fife . Although
8892-482: The route was established, four ships were assigned to the service. In addition to Teutonic and Majestic , RMS Oceanic and the brand new RMS Adriatic sailed the route. When the Olympic entered service in June 1911, the ship replaced Teutonic , which after completing a last run on the service in late April was transferred to the Dominion Line's Canadian service. The following August, Adriatic
9009-507: The ship . The first-class accommodation was designed to be the pinnacle of comfort and luxury. It included a gymnasium, swimming pool, smoking rooms, fine restaurants and cafes, a Victorian-style Turkish bath , and hundreds of opulent cabins. A high-powered radiotelegraph transmitter was available to send passenger "marconigrams" and for the ship's operational use. Titanic had advanced safety features, such as watertight compartments and remotely activated watertight doors, which contributed to
9126-520: The ship sank, the lifeboats that had been lowered were only filled up to an average of 60%. The name Titanic derives from the Titans of Greek mythology . Built in Belfast , Ireland, in what was then the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , RMS Titanic was the second of the three Olympic -class ocean liners —the lead vessel was RMS Olympic and the final ship in the class
9243-544: The ship used some 415 tonnes of coal whilst in Southampton, simply generating steam to operate the cargo winches and provide heat and light. Like Olympic , Titanic carried a total of 20 lifeboats: 14 standard wooden Harland and Wolff lifeboats with a capacity of 65 people each and four Engelhardt "collapsible" (wooden bottom, collapsible canvas sides) lifeboats (identified as A to D) with a capacity of 47 people each. In addition, Titanic had two emergency cutters with
9360-404: The ship's five anchors (one port, one starboard, one in the centreline and two kedging anchors ). The ship was equipped with waterworks capable of heating and pumping water to all parts of the vessel via a complex network of pipes and valves. The main water supply was taken aboard while Titanic was in port, but in an emergency, the ship could also distil fresh water from seawater. However, this
9477-399: The ship's reputation as "unsinkable". Titanic was equipped with 16 lifeboat davits , each capable of lowering three lifeboats, for a total capacity of 48 boats. Despite this capacity, the ship was scantly equipped with a total of only 20 lifeboats . Fourteen of these were regular lifeboats, two were cutter lifeboats, and four were collapsible and proved difficult to launch while the ship
9594-440: The ship, plus two 30 kW auxiliary generators for emergency use. Their location in the stern of the ship meant they remained operational until the last few minutes before the ship sank. Titanic lacked a searchlight, in accordance with the ban on the use of searchlights in the merchant navy. The interiors of the Olympic -class ships were subdivided into 16 primary compartments divided by 15 bulkheads that extended above
9711-422: The ships, plus a five per cent profit margin. In the case of the Olympic -class ships, a cost of £3 million (approximately £370 million in 2023) for the first two ships was agreed, plus "extras to contract" and the usual five per cent fee. Harland and Wolff put their leading designers to work designing Olympic -class vessels. The design was overseen by Lord Pirrie , a director of both Harland and Wolff and
9828-440: The ships. The 2,000 hull plates were single pieces of rolled steel plate , mostly up to 6 feet (1.8 m) wide and 30 feet (9.1 m) long and weighing between 2.5 and 3 tonnes. Their thickness varied from 1 inch (2.5 cm) to 1.5 inches (3.8 cm). The plates were laid in a clinkered (overlapping) fashion from the keel to the bilge. Above that point they were laid in the "in and out" fashion, where strake plating
9945-425: The storage of letters, parcels and specie (bullion, coins and other valuables), 26,800 cubic feet (760 m ) of space was allocated. The Sea Post Office on G Deck was manned by five postal clerks (three Americans and two Britons), who worked 13 hours a day, seven days a week, sorting up to 60,000 items daily. The ship's passengers brought with them a huge amount of baggage; another 19,455 cubic feet (550.9 m )
10062-418: The surveyor signed an "Agreement and Account of Voyages and Crew", valid for 12 months, which declared the ship seaworthy. An hour later, Titanic departed Belfast to head to Southampton, a voyage of about 570 nautical miles (660 mi; 1,060 km). After a journey lasting about 28 hours, Titanic arrived about midnight on 4 April and was towed to the port's Berth 44, ready for the arrival of passengers and
10179-425: The third vessel in class, Britannic ) had a steel screen with sliding windows installed along the forward half of the A Deck promenade. This was installed as a last-minute change at the personal request of Bruce Ismay and was intended to provide additional shelter to First Class passengers. Extensive changes were made to B Deck on Titanic as the promenade space in this deck, which had proven unpopular on Olympic ,
10296-542: The time, the Board of Trade 's regulations required British vessels over 10,000 tonnes to only carry 16 lifeboats with a capacity of 990 occupants. Therefore, the White Star Line actually provided more lifeboat accommodation than was legally required. At the time, lifeboats were intended to ferry survivors from a sinking ship to a rescuing ship—not keep afloat the whole population or power them to shore. Had SS Californian responded to Titanic 's distress calls ,
10413-442: The time, where Third Class accommodations consisted of little more than open dormitories in which hundreds of people were confined, often without adequate food or toilet facilities. The White Star Line had long since broken that mould. As seen aboard Titanic , all White Star Line passenger ships divided their Third Class accommodations into two sections, always at opposite ends of the vessel from one another. The established arrangement
10530-424: The time. Much of the work was carried out without safety equipment like hard hats or hand guards on machinery. 246 injuries were recorded during Titanic ' s construction, including 28 severe injuries, such as arms severed by machines or legs crushed under falling pieces of steel. Six people died on the ship during construction and fitting out, and another two died in the shipyard workshops and sheds. Just before
10647-632: The title, whereupon Edith became Marchioness of Londonderry. This made her chatelaine of several large houses designed for entertaining, notably Londonderry House , the family's London townhouse in Mayfair , and Mount Stewart , the family seat in County Down . They also owned other properties such as Seaham Hall and Wynward Park in County Durham , and Plas Machynlleth in Wales. During
10764-491: The uppermost landing was a large carved wooden panel containing a clock, with figures of "Honour and Glory Crowning Time" flanking the clock face. The Grand Staircase was destroyed during the sinking and is now just a void in the ship which modern explorers have used to access the lower decks. During the filming of James Cameron's Titanic in 1997, his replica of the Grand Staircase was ripped from its foundations by
10881-435: The waterline. The eleven vertically closing watertight doors on the orlop deck could be closed automatically via a switch on the bridge, by a lever next to the door itself, or by an automatic buoyancy mechanism that would activate in the event water reached six feet high in the compartment. There were also several other horizontally closing watertight doors along Scotland Road, and various crew and third class passenger spaces on
10998-442: The west coast. Asked by the reporter how she felt about "leaving London society for a California fruit farm," Noël replied, "I am full of joyful expectation." While Noël and Gladys were originally installed in a basic first class cabin, C-37, it is believed they upgraded to a more commodious suite, C-77. In an American press interview, Rothes was quoted as saying she and Cherry occupied stateroom B-77. The women were in their beds when
11115-452: The working office. The ship was equipped with a 'state of the art' 5-kilowatt rotary spark-gap transmitter , with the wireless telegraph call sign MGY, and communication was in Morse code . This transmitter was one of the first Marconi installations to use a rotary spark-gap, which gave Titanic a distinctive musical tone that could be readily distinguished from other signals. The transmitter
11232-737: Was HMHS Britannic . They were by far the largest vessels of the British shipping company White Star Line 's fleet, which comprised 29 steamers and tenders in 1912. The three ships had their genesis in a discussion in mid-1907 between the White Star Line's chairman, J. Bruce Ismay , and the American financier J. P. Morgan , who controlled the White Star Line's parent corporation, the International Mercantile Marine Co. (IMM). White Star faced an increasing challenge from its main rivals, Cunard Line —which, with
11349-445: Was Harland and Wolff's 400th hull. Titanic was based on a revised version of the same design and was given the number 401. Titanic was 882 feet 9 inches (269.06 m) long with a maximum breadth of 92 feet 6 inches (28.19 m). The ship's total height, measured from the base of the keel to the top of the bridge, was 104 feet (32 m). Titanic measured 46,329 GRT and 21,831 NRT and with
11466-456: Was a dummy, installed for aesthetic purposes, and used for providing ventilation to the kitchen, as well as for the First and Second Class smoking rooms. Two masts, each 155 ft (47 m) high, supported derricks for working cargo. Titanic ' s rudder was 78 feet 8 inches (23.98 m) high and 15 feet 3 inches (4.65 m) long, weighing over 100 tonnes. Its size
11583-566: Was a noted and influential society hostess in the United Kingdom between World War I and World War II , a friend of the first Labour prime minister, Ramsay MacDonald . She was a noted gardener and a writer and editor of the works of others. Born as Edith Helen Chaplin in Blankney , Lincolnshire , she was the daughter of Henry Chaplin , landowner and Conservative politician and later the 1st Viscount Chaplin (1840–1923), and Lady Florence Sutherland-Leveson-Gower (1855–1881). After
11700-524: Was a reference point—with First Class cabins finished in the Empire style . A variety of other decorative styles, ranging from the Renaissance to Louis XV , were used to decorate cabins and public rooms in First and Second Class areas of the ship. The aim was to convey an impression that the passengers were in a floating hotel rather than a ship. As one passenger recalled, on entering the ship's interior
11817-481: Was applied in bands (the "in strakes") with the gaps covered by the "out strakes", overlapping on the edges. Commercial oxy-fuel and electric arc welding methods, ubiquitous in fabrication today, were still in their infancy. Like most other iron and steel structures of the era, the hull was held together with over three million iron and steel rivets , which by themselves weighed over 1,200 tonnes. They were fitted using hydraulic machines or were hammered in by hand. In
11934-555: Was buried next to her first husband in the Leslie vault at Christ's Kirk on the Green Churchyard in Leslie, Fife . A memorial plaque was erected in her honor on the west wall of the chancel of St Mary's Church in Fairford. It reads: "Noëlle, Widow of the 19th Earl of Rothes, and Beloved Wife of Col. Claud Macfie D.S.O. of Fayre Court, Fairford, At Rest 12 Sept. 1956. Holiness is an infinite compassion for others. Greatness
12051-519: Was converted into additional First-Class cabins, including two opulent parlour suites with their own private promenade spaces. The À la Carte restaurant was also enlarged and the Café Parisien , an entirely new feature which did not exist on Olympic , was added. These changes made Titanic slightly heavier than Olympic and allowed claim to be the largest ship afloat. The work took longer than expected due to design changes requested by Ismay and
12168-553: Was employed by smaller vessels with shorter antennas. The passenger facilities aboard Titanic aimed to meet the highest standards of luxury. According to Titanic ' s general arrangement plans, the ship could accommodate 833 First Class Passengers, 614 in Second Class and 1,006 in Third Class, for a total passenger capacity of 2,453. In addition, Titanic 's capacity for crew members exceeded 900, as most documents of
12285-662: Was not a straightforward process as the distillation plant could quickly became clogged by salt deposits. A network of insulated ducts conveyed warm air around the ship with electric fans and First-Class cabins were fitted with additional electric heaters. Titanic ' s radiotelegraph equipment (then known as wireless telegraphy ) was leased to the White Star Line by the Marconi International Marine Communication Company , which also supplied two of its employees, Jack Phillips and Harold Bride , as operators. The service maintained
12402-417: Was not formally named or christened with champagne. The ship was towed to a fitting-out berth where, over the course of the next year, the engines, funnels and superstructure were installed and interior was fitted out. Although Titanic was virtually identical to the class's lead ship Olympic , a few changes were made to distinguish both ships. The most noticeable exterior difference was that Titanic (and
12519-400: Was nursing soldiers during the First World War , first at Leslie House, a wing of which she converted into a hospital for troops invalided out of the conflict, and then at the Coulter Hospital in London. There she nursed her own husband after he was wounded in battle in 1916. She found the work fulfilling and stayed on for two years. During her time with the Coulter Hospital, Noël helped produce
12636-414: Was one of the most powerful in the world and guaranteed to broadcast over a radius of 350 miles (304 nmi; 563 km). An elevated T-antenna that spanned the length of the ship was used for transmitting and receiving. The normal operating frequency was 500 kHz (600 m wavelength); however, the equipment could also operate on the "short" wavelength of 1,000 kHz (300 m wavelength) that
12753-503: Was published before the sailing to inform the public which members of the great and good were on board, and it was not uncommon for ambitious mothers to use the list to identify rich bachelors to whom they could introduce their marriageable daughters during the voyage. One of Titanic ' s most distinctive features was the First Class staircase, known as the Grand Staircase or Grand Stairway. Built of solid English oak with
12870-453: Was sinking. Together, the 20 lifeboats could hold 1,178 people — roughly half the number of passengers on board, and a third of the number the passengers the ship could have carried at full capacity (a number consistent with the maritime safety regulations of the era). The British Board of Trade's regulations required 14 lifeboats for a ship 10,000 tonnes. Titanic carried six more than required, allowing 338 extra people room in lifeboats. When
12987-488: Was such that it required steering engines to move it. Two steam-powered steering engines were installed, though only one was used at any given time, with the other one kept in reserve. They were connected to the short tiller through stiff springs, to isolate the steering engines from any shocks in heavy seas or during fast changes of direction. As a last resort, the tiller could be moved by ropes connected to two steam capstans . The capstans were also used to raise and lower
13104-455: Was supplemented by the addition of a smoking room for men and a general room on C Deck which women could use for reading and writing. Leisure facilities were provided for all three classes to pass the time. As well as making use of the indoor amenities such as the library, smoking rooms, and gymnasium, it was also customary for passengers to socialise on the open deck, promenading or relaxing in hired deck chairs or wooden benches. A passenger list
13221-416: Was taken up by first- and second-class baggage. In addition, there was a considerable quantity of regular cargo, ranging from furniture to foodstuffs, and a 1912 Renault Type CE Coupe de Ville motor car. Despite later myths, the cargo on Titanic ' s maiden voyage was fairly mundane; there was no gold, exotic minerals or diamonds, and one of the more famous items lost in the shipwreck, a jewelled copy of
13338-450: Was tested, and a "crash stop" was performed in which the engines were reversed full ahead to full astern, bringing the ship to a stop in 850 yd (777 m) or 3 minutes and 15 seconds. Titanic covered a distance of about 80 nautical miles (92 mi; 150 km), averaging 18 knots (21 mph; 33 km/h) and reaching a maximum speed of just under 21 knots (24 mph; 39 km/h). On returning to Belfast at about 7 pm,
13455-517: Was that single men were quartered in the forward areas, while single women, married couples and families were quartered aft. In addition, while other ships provided only open berth sleeping arrangements, White Star Line vessels provided their Third-Class passengers with private, small but comfortable cabins capable of accommodating two, four, six, eight and ten passengers. Third Class accommodations also included their own dining rooms, as well as public gathering areas including adequate open deck space. This
13572-695: Was the only child of Thomas and Clementina Dyer-Edwardes. Her maternal grandmother was Lucy Sale-Barker . She was brought up at her parents' residences, Prinknash Park in Gloucestershire and Chateau de Retival in Normandy and a townhouse in Kensington, London . Noël Dyer-Edwardes married Norman Leslie, 19th Earl of Rothes (pronounced " Roth -is") on Primrose Day , 19 April 1900 at St Mary Abbots in Kensington, London . Although wedding announcements in The Sketch and other London papers spelled
13689-673: Was transferred to White Star Line's main Liverpool-New York service, and in November, Majestic was withdrawn from service impending the arrival of Titanic in the coming months and was mothballed as a reserve ship. White Star Line's initial plans for Olympic and Titanic on the Southampton run followed the same routine as their predecessors had done before them. Each would sail once every three weeks from Southampton and New York, usually leaving at noon each Wednesday from Southampton and each Saturday from New York, thus enabling
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