Celts in the City - Part 5
On our way out of Belfast, we made two more stops. The first was the Titanic Belfast History Museum followed by the Hillsborough Castle, the official residence of King Charles III in Northern Ireland.
Ship building was the "bread" to the textile industry's "butter" of the Belfast economy up to the end of WWII. One of the famous products of the shipyards was the White Star Line's RMS Titanic. Most everybody is aware of how that story ended on the night of April 14, 1912. But like all headline news, there is way more background information. To tell the story, Belfast has exhibition hall on the grounds of the Harland and Wolff shipyard, where RMS Titanic was built.
In addition to the Titanic story, the museum has exhibits on the history of Belfast and its industrial past. The crazy modern building is stylized to resemble the bows of a large vessels, like the RMS Titanic or one of its sister ships. Did you know there were two more ships just like Titanic? The Olympic, launched in 1910 and Britannic, launched in 1914. Olympic was retired in 1935 and scrapped. Britannic was lost to a sea mine during WWI while serving as a hospital ship.
From overhead, the star shaped building can be seen at the head of the slipways where Olympic and Titanic were build side by side. Much of the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast lies empty and unused.
The newest tenant in the shipyard is Titanic Studios, where much of the hit TV series Game of Thrones was produced. In addition to the sound stages in the large buildings at the shipyard, the counties of Northern Ireland are often the locations used for shooting outdoors scenes.
In contrast with the ugliness of a shipyard, we ventured south and west to County Down and the Hillsborough Castle. Built in the 1700s for the Marquess of Downshire, it was acquired by the British governement in 1922, following the partition of Ireland. It was the Royal Governor's residence until 1973, when the post was abolished during the devolution to local rule. It is now managed by a trust, and serves the King when needed.
The Castle has a significant art collection and a strict "no photography" policy indoors. (Sorry.) The collection of miniature enamels of all the Kings of Britain was remarkable. Once outside, we toured the impressive gardens.
The rose garden was amazing. Flowers love the climate of the northern counties.
The grounds are now a horticultural park, open to the public.
After a couple more hours on the road, we crossed the River Liffey and finished the day in the very modern city of Dublin, Ireland. More on Dublin in the last installment.