Olympic Dining Room
Discussion
Manged to visit the Swan Hotel in Alnwick at the weekend. My reason was to have a weekend away with the Misses and to see the dining room.
Details are out there but basically when the Olympic (sister to the Titanic and Britanic for those who don't know) was being scrapped in Jarrow, the fixtures and fittings were sold off and the First Class Lounge was bought and installed in the Swan as its dining room. The carving is impressive and it does come over really well.
24 years of service unlike the other two...
Really interesting to see in the flesh. Food was White Star themed.
Only downside is the mark up on the wine list...
Details are out there but basically when the Olympic (sister to the Titanic and Britanic for those who don't know) was being scrapped in Jarrow, the fixtures and fittings were sold off and the First Class Lounge was bought and installed in the Swan as its dining room. The carving is impressive and it does come over really well.
24 years of service unlike the other two...
Really interesting to see in the flesh. Food was White Star themed.
Only downside is the mark up on the wine list...
Sorry, forgot to mention that.
Staircase:
We were in the Esprit, and I was sitting in the bar watching the world go by and it was amazing to see how many people walked round it and took photos. One Dad and Lad came up to ask if it was OK to take a photo, so I obliged and opened it up to let him see inside.
Staircase:
We were in the Esprit, and I was sitting in the bar watching the world go by and it was amazing to see how many people walked round it and took photos. One Dad and Lad came up to ask if it was OK to take a photo, so I obliged and opened it up to let him see inside.
Nice pics - thanks for the sharing. A trip to the Swan Hotel has been on my 'to do' list for quite a while.
There was also the old Smith & Walton 'Hadrian Works' paint factory in Haltwhistle, where another batch of interior fittings from the Olympic were purchased during a refurbishment - these included windows and paneling from the gymnasium reused as offices, the skylight and ceiling moldings from the 1st Class smoking room forming the roof of the works canteen (with former 1st class elevator entrances and cabin passageway light fittings), gents and ladies lavatories lifted virtually wholesale from the ship, improved by some panelling re-used from the B-deck staircase landing. Other small items like Tourist class bunk ladders, sections of mahogany and teak decking, doors, rubber floor tiles from the 2nd class dining saloon, parquet flooring from the 2nd class library and various light fittings and window sections were also re-used around the factory.
There was also the old Smith & Walton 'Hadrian Works' paint factory in Haltwhistle, where another batch of interior fittings from the Olympic were purchased during a refurbishment - these included windows and paneling from the gymnasium reused as offices, the skylight and ceiling moldings from the 1st Class smoking room forming the roof of the works canteen (with former 1st class elevator entrances and cabin passageway light fittings), gents and ladies lavatories lifted virtually wholesale from the ship, improved by some panelling re-used from the B-deck staircase landing. Other small items like Tourist class bunk ladders, sections of mahogany and teak decking, doors, rubber floor tiles from the 2nd class dining saloon, parquet flooring from the 2nd class library and various light fittings and window sections were also re-used around the factory.
There were several items from Olympic on display, including some panelling and third class room fixtures, at the recent Titanic exhibition at Canary Wharf. Really fascinating stuff. I found a piece of coal recovered from the Atlantic floor most interesting, much to my girlfriends consternation 
Would like to visit The Swan one day.
Would like to visit The Swan one day.
Olympic on the left with Cunard's Mauretania at Southampton in 1935 waiting to be towed to the breakers yard. Mauretania departed on July 1st for scrapping in Rosyth. Olympic departed October 11th for Jarrow.
Imagine what you could have bought either for back then when no one was bothered about them.
Imagine what you could have bought either for back then when no one was bothered about them.
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