National Museums Northern Ireland has opened the Harland & Wolff ship plans archive to the public for the first time. The collection is now housed at the Cultra Collections Store at the Ulster Folk Museum.
The archive contains hundreds of thousands of ship plans from the Belfast shipyard, Harland & Wolff. Among them are designs for the RMS Titanic and her sister ships, Olympic and Britannic.
Recently uncovered material includes additional Olympic-class plans and drawings for vessels such as the four-masted Damson Hill and the liner Canberra. The archive also features documents, ledgers and photographs, offering insight into shipbuilding processes and working life.
Project archivist Siobhan McLaughlin said, “The public will have an unprecedented opportunity to experience stories of design innovation from this vast repository.”
The cataloguing project, titled “From Drawing Board to Slipway”, is supported by the Archives Revealed programme. It aims to digitise and expand access through online platforms, education and community engagement.
Director of Collections William Blair said public demand had long outpaced access due to the archive’s scale. “This project demonstrates our commitment to making collections accessible to a wider audience,” he said.
The archive also highlights lesser-known aspects of the company’s work, including engineering projects beyond shipbuilding. Harland & Wolff, founded in 1861, remains active in shipbuilding and offshore engineering.
Director of Operations Alan Haley said the project coincides with renewed activity at the Belfast yard. He said, “We’re immensely proud of the shipyard’s heritage and determined to add to this archive by building more ships for the future.”
Public access will be available online and by appointment as cataloguing continues.
