The legend of the Titanic was born in a London mansion on a summer’s night in 1907. It was then that Lord James Pirrie, of the shipyard Harland and Wolf, and J. Bruce Ismay, managing director of the shipping company White Star Line, began planning the construction of the world’s three largest and grandest ships: the Olympic, the Titanic and the Gigantic (renamed the Britannic in the wake of the tragedy of the Titanic).

Ismay and Pirrie’s ships would even have a third class section for travellers. At the same time, they would also boast unimaginable luxury, a first in the history of transatlantic steamers. The ship’s interiors would be able to compete with and even comfortably outclass the most exclusive hotels and restaurants. What’s more, they would be so safe that they would come to be declared “practically unsinkable”, thanks to a new system of watertight doors.