Marlinspike Hall Marlinspike Hall Marlinspike Hall ( ) is Captain Haddock's country house and family estate in "The Adventures of Tintin", the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. The original French name of the hall, "Moulinsart", is derived from Sart-Moulin, a village near Braine-l'Alleud in Walloon Brabant, Belgium. In an allusion to the Haddock family's maritime history, the hall's English name refers to the marlinspike, a tool used in seamanship to splice ropes. The Belgian corporation managing Hergé's work (principally "Tintin") is also called Moulinsart S.A. Marlinspike Hall first appears in "The Secret of the Unicorn" as the home of the story's
Herbert Haddock was born to Herbert James Haddock (born 1825) in Rugby, Warwickshire on 27 January 1861. Before working for the White Star Line, Haddock was a lieutenant with the Royal Navy aboard HMS "Edinburgh". In 1902, Haddock was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath. He was later "aide de camp" to British royalty. His White Star Line career included commanding a number of liners, including the RMS "Britannic", SS "Germanic", RMS "Cedric", and RMS "Oceanic". Haddock was also nominally the first commander of RMS "Titanic". He signed on as her master at Southampton on 25 March 1912, and