5 Places in London Connected to Titanic

It's been 113 years...

And although I can't smell the fresh paint, I can imagine through the relics of Titanic's past what it must have been like on that fateful night. 

There is much more to see in Belfast or Liverpool, but if you can't get there, London is a great alternative. Here are 5 places in London connected to Titanic:

National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

                                           Wikipedia

Newspapers, a toy pig and a whistle are some of the artifacts at the National Maritime Museum. They are not always on display, however. 

Titanic Memorial Gardens

After perusing the artifacts in the Museum, take some time to walk around the grounds in front of the museum. A memorial stone in the middle of the grounds has the following inscription:

To

commemorate the sinking

of

R.M.S. Titanic

on

15th April 1912

And all those who

were lost with her

15th April 1995

There is also a sign which says the following:

The Titanic Memorial Garden

The Titanic Memorial Garden was established by the National Maritime Museum to commemorate the sinking of R.M.S. Titanic on 15 April 1912 and all those who were lost.

It was officially opened on 15 April 1995, the 83rd anniversary of the sinking, by Mrs Edith Haisman who survived the disaster when she was fifteen years old.

The garden contains traditional plants of remembrance; Rosemary, Purple Sage, Irish Golden Yew and Peace Roses. The monument is crafted from Cornish granite, traditionally used as ship's ballast, and the plaque is bronze.

Berry Bros. & Rudd

Berry Bros. & Rudd has been supplying the Royal Family with refreshments for over 300 years. It turns out they supplied the Titanic as well. A well known artifact on display at their signature St James store is a letter from the White Star Line to then 'Berry Bros. & Co.' with detail about how many bottles of wine were lost at sea. 

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Lloyd's

                                                       Wikipedia

Historically, Lloyd's was the insurance provider for most ships and shipping. From their website:

"At the time of the disaster, the market – and the media – was still in the early stages of using wireless telegraphy to communicate with ships at sea. Lloyd’s was a significant contributor to the new technology and, with the help of inventor Guglielmo Marconi, had set up signal stations from Cornwall to Canada so that vessels crossing the Atlantic could communicate with land...The Lloyd’s signal station in Halifax, Nova Scotia, was called Cape Race, and was the first to hear the news that the ship was sinking. Other signal stations issued conflicting reports, resulting in great confusion. Two days later, some newspapers still thought the Titanic had survived, and was being towed to Halifax. Lloyd’s, however, understood the situation. Underwriters began to trade ‘overdue insurance’ – a form of reinsurance commonly purchased after a marine incident."

To put it in perspective - the hull alone was worth around one million GBP – around 118 million GBP in today’s money.

At Lloyd's be sure to check out the Lutine Bell, which was rung to commemorate significant events, such as the sinking of the Titanic.

Oceanic House, Cockspur Street (close to Trafalgar Square)

Oceanic House was the original headquarters for the White Star Line when Titanic sunk where passengers bought their tickets. 

Leonard Bentley, Wikipedia

Although the Oceanic House is now mostly high-end apartments, like most buildings in London these days, there is a cased model of the Titanic in the foyer on the main level.