The Inside Story

Explore the interior of St Columba through three major refits and three name changes.

The First Class Lounge, A Deck Forward. Photo: British Rail, courtesy Bruce Peter.

As built, St Columba had capacity for 2400 passengers in first and second class accommodation.

The entrance areas and circulation halls for both classes featured single staircases varying in width from 6.50 to 9.00 metres which, from A Deck, lead up to the Boat Deck and down to B Deck.  The staircases, with open risers in the flights upwards from A were sited centrally in the halls.  The first class areas were carpeted, the second class having PVC floor covering.  The finishes and decorative schemes were identical in both classes.  Perimeter bulkheads were boldly patterned in brown and black, the slatted ceilings were orange.  A cream freize between the two and the bright metal of the ballustrades enlivened these unusually low key colour combinations.

The ancillary services around the staircase halls included a Bureau and "Sealink Shop" for each class.

In the Second Class area 888 of the 1930 passenger seats

On A Deck aft, a Tea Bar decorated in greens, greys and white accomodated 196 diners with self service catering facilities.  Beyond this, at the aft extreme of the accommodation  were enclosed shelter spaces with provision for 234 travellers.  Port and Starboard the seats were arranged for viewing out to sea and a disco with small dance floor was also provided.

Further enclosed shelter accommodation was provided on the Boat Deck where a TV Lounge seating 50 was flanked port, starboard and aft by a further 224 seats.

The shelter accommodation on both decks featured continuous runs of large viewing windows.  The vertical steel of the hull was exposed and white painted at the ship's side.  Cream slatted ceilings and brown or grey deck coverings provided the seating for brightly coloured seats, tables and interior bulkheads.

The Lansdowne Road Bar (2nd class) aft on B Deck seated 122 passengers centrally and 92 in each of the linked port and starboard lounges.  Whilst it was very different in character from the Cardiff Arms Park Bar for First Class passengers, the Lansdowne Road Bar shared a similar use of brown, cream and orange colours.

FIRST CLASS

First Class accommodation with seating for 544 passengers (excluding the restaurant) was located forward on A and B Decks.

Whereas the Lansdowne Road Bar was predominantly orange in colour, the Cardiff Arms Park Bar. forward of the staircase on B Deck, used orange in only small areas of ceiling and bar service area and in the central seating.  The bulkheads were brown and black, similar to the adjacent entrance but in a much smaller pattern.  Perimeter seating was black.  Each pair of these seats and the bulkhead behind is curved to respond to an adjacent circular table.  Above these groupings illuminated orange circular coffers were set in a brown background.  The central ceiling area was white.

The Cardiff Arms Park Bar was an entirely interior space without windows.  However it did link directly with a small lounge, seating 24 passengers, where the soft lighting and restrained colour changes sharply to a contrastingly bright orange, white and purple enclosure.

Port and starboard of the Cardiff Arms Park Bar were two lounges, each capable of seating 78 passengers in spaces where browns derived from the adjacent areas are complemented by seats and bulkheads in different shades of lilac.

First Class accommodation on A Deck comprised three lounges and the Restaurant, the latter being situated aft of the staircase. 

The Restaurant was decorated in shades of red and claret and extended the full width of the ship.  It was also capable of being subdivided into a central area seating 48 with port and starboard spaces each seating 20 diners.

Forward of the staircase there were two small side spaces, both approached through a central lounge.  The portside lounge in shades of tan and yellow seated 66 passengers while a TV Lounge on the starboard side could accommodate 48 passengers in a predominantly blue space.  This latter lounge was probably my favouite lounge in the entire ship and I can still recall passing many crossings in cosy comfort there!

The central lounge itself could seat 94 passengers in settees, armchairs and bulkhead seats of which the backs extended virtually to the ceiling.  The very simple decorative scheme in greens and cream was dominated by a three dimensional glass fibre mural the full height of the room by some 5.5m in width.  Executed by the late Franta Belsky, it illustrated aspects of the life of St Columba.  The mural extended between the two entrance doors on the aft bulkhead of the area.  Its intrinsic interest was enhanced by the presence in the room of the sculptor's first 10th scale model for the work which was acquired and presented to the ship by her sponsor, Mrs David Kirby.

The fitting out of all public spaces on St Columba was carried out by Aalborg Vaerft A/S to the designs of architects Ward Associates of London.

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Grateful thanks to Bruce Peter for access to his collection of Neville Ward & Associates photographs.