The Grand Staircases
The
Olympic had two main Staircases for the use of first class
passengers. The forward Grand Staircase is probably the most
iconic image of the interior of Olympic and Titanic. They
were in the William & Mary style and immediately told
anyone boarding either ship in first class that they were
stepping aboard a floating palace.
Fortunately,
a
large
portion
of
the
Olympic's
Grand
Staircases
survive
today,
thanks
largely
to
the
purchases
made
in
1935
that
went
to
the
paint
factory in Haltwhistle and the find in the barn in
Berwick-upon-Tweed in 1991 and auctioned by Anderson
and Garland. The main staircase of the White Swan
Hotel is still home to a section of the banisters. I
shall begin the tour of exhibits with the famous 'Honour and Glory Crowning Time'
carving by Charles Wilson that graced the boat deck landing
of the forward Grand Staircase.
The photo
above appeared in the South Shields Gazette while the
Olympic was at Jarrow awaiting her breaking up. Luckily, the
carving survives now at the Southampton Maritime Museum
after being in an office in London for many years. An exact
copy of it was made for James Cameron's Titanic movie.
However, it is likely that the one Wilson made for Titanic
would have been noticeably different in its appearance while
conforming to the same basic design. On the right is its
plainer counterpart from the aft Grand Staircase which also held a clock and was
found among the Berwick purchases.
The panel below is from the uppermost landing of the Aft Grand Staircase with the ghostly outline of brass letters spelling "PROM DECK" showing the fine and ornate scroll, fruit and ribbon carving, similar that found in the King's Dining Room at Windsor Castle. This panel was discovered in Berwick-Upon-Tweed. A selection of the find at Berwick is seen on the right, showing the two large panels and a number of pillars and newell posts.
The marking on the left was on the back of a panel found at the factory, it identifies it as coming from a Promenade Deck landing. It is notable as it has the presumed name of the craftsman who produced the panel at Harland and Wolff: T Chandler. On the right is the marking on the back of a similar panel that was part of the Berwick find.
The Banisters
The banisters of the Grand Staircases were made of solid oak and had wrought iron scroll work influenced by the style of Louis XIV. A long banister that once lined the centre of the 'D' Deck flight aboard the Olympic now lines the main staircase of the White Swan Hotel. The post at the bottom of the banister would have originally held the spectacular 21 light electrolier you can see further down this page. The banister was identified as being as it is the length of thirteen steps and not eleven as the flights on the decks above had. Paul Hurst and Stuart Lythgoe created this photo composite that proved this banister's origin.
The Staircase continues to the first floor with a shorter stretch of the banister.
A short section of staircase banisters leads up to the Olympic Room at the White Swan Hotel, containing the panelling from the first class Lounge (link to follow). The raised handrail was added later in Olympic's career and can be see in photographs of the forward Grand Staircase from the 1930s.
The Chandeliers
The ceiling lights that were used in the Grand Staircases became iconic when a largely intact one was filmed by Robert Ballard inside the Titanic's wreck in 1986, meaning that there are among the most sought after items by collectors. There were two types used aboard the Olympic, one with glass beads found in the landings and others with a glass bowl used in the elevator foyers. I've only seen two beaded chandeliers. The first was brought into the 2000 British Titanic Society convention and auctioned by Henry Aldridge & Son later that year. It was missing its base and was held up by chains.
The second beaded chandelier turned up in the auction of Charles Miller Ltd in 2009.
Charles told me it was submitted to the auction by a gentleman who had purchased it in Southampton. In the photo on the right are from the Mauretania, removed from the pub in Bristol that is home to a large section of her fittings. This chandelier sold for £3,120: demonstrating how sought after they are.!
The Haltwhistle factory was home to sixteen of the cut glass bowl chandeliers from the elevator foyers. They were attached to the ceiling from the first class smoking room (link to follow) when fitted into the factory. The file of correspondence from the factory contains a few letters from people very keen to purchase one of them!
Below are some close-ups of the cut glass bowl chandeliers. Photos courtesy of Ray Cowell.
The 'B' deck landing of the Aft Grand Staircase served as the Reception Room for the a La Carte Restaurant. The ceiling lights here were smaller in size and were unique to this area of the ship. Three of these lights were installed (unceremoniously!) in the ladies' toilets of the factory.
The tour of the Grand Staircase lighting concludes with the simply stunning candelabra that capped the newell post in the first class reception room on 'D' deck. It was moved to Thomas Ward's Sheffield works after the auction and installed (fittingly!) at the bottom of a staircase. It was removed in the 1980s and its current whereabouts are unknown. Please get in touch if you know where this remarkable item is now.
The Landings
This set of double doors would have lead off the Grand Staircase to First Class Staterooms. Opening them would have revealed a long corridor lined with cabin doors on either side.
These
fragments of the carved surround for the door frames on the
Grand Staircase were
found underneath the floorboards of the factory during the
stripping out. They still show
traces of the Olympic's green internal paint scheme applied
during the last refit in 1933. Photos courtesy of Ray Cowell.
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This
architrave surrounded the ceiling of each of the Grand
Staircase landings.
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The Paintings and
Pilasters
The
paintings
and
pillasters
shown
here
were
used
to
decoarate
the
Board
Room
and
upstairs
landing
at
the
factory.
The
paintings
are
in
oil
and
were
located in the well of the stairs descending to the
lower decks on the forward Grand Staircase. The
position is shown here
on the set of James Cameron's Titanic. They were
likely painted by an artist in Belfast commissioned
by Harland & Wolff. The pilasters at the sides
of the paintings came from the lift lobbies which
were behind the stairs in the forward Grand
Staircase.
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The stripping out of the
factory revealed the 1933 green paint scheme on
sections of
the pilasters that had been covered for nearly
seventy years.
The
first
painting depicts a ruined building on an Italian
landscape and was on the
Promenade Deck landing, immediately below the
'Honour and Glory' carving. According to the
disperal auction catalogue there was another
painting depicting an Italian landscape on
the Boat Deck landing.
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The
last painting on the forward Grand Staircase was on
the half landing between 'D' and 'E' or Upper Deck.
At this point, the staircase became a single narrow
flight down to the bottom. Accordingly,
the painting is narrower than the others. It depicts
peasants playing musical instruments
against a similar landscape to the first two
paintings.
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