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Railway Hotels |
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RAILWAY BRITAIN |
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Hotels were
beginning to develop before the Age of the railways. But what the
railways did
was to rapidly develop them, creating the Victorian grand hotel, and
pioneering
the modern hotel industry. At various times they operated over 110
establishments, large and small. Hotels were built outright, purchased,
or
leased, and in 1913 the net receipts exceeded £ ½ million. The first
hotel for rail travellers was built alongside They began
a long period of building or acquisition of hotels by or for railways
that lasted
into the 20th century. In 1840, the North Midland Railway opened a
hotel for
passengers needing to change trains at Normanton, designed by Francis
Thompson
who built Cuff’s Station Hotel at The Great Northern Hotel at London Kings Cross was
opened in
1854, and until company law legislation in 1856 and 1862 relaxed
restrictions
on share ownership and introduced limited liability, the railways were
the only
organisations with the capital resources to build hotels. Strictly
parliamentary powers were required. Few had them, and a number of
companies
obtained them only retrospectively, or made recourse to subsidiary
companies,
for financed others. The LBSCR assisted a private company to build The Grosvenor Hotel at Nor were
the provinces neglected, where railway rivalry often produced hotels.
The LNWR
opened The Queens Hotel at Railways
also owned hotels at ports, like the London
& Paris Hotel at Newhaven in 1847, and the Lord
Warden Hotel at Golf
received considerable attention, particularly in Architecture
followed current fashion, becoming more flamboyant as the 19th century
progressed. Well-known architects were employed: E. M. Barry at London
Cannon
Street and Charing Cross, C. E. Barry at London Liverpool Street,
Alfred
Waterhouse at Liverpool’s North Western, and George Gilbert Scott at
London St
Pancras, where the Midland Grand, opened in 1873, reached the apogee of
High
Victorian Gothic architecture and was the last word in hotels in its
day.
Interiors were no less lavish, with vast, impressive dining rooms and
lounges.
Some catered for special interests, such as City functions at After the
1923 Grouping some of the older hotels that could not be economically
modernised were sold or converted into offices: the North Western at On
nationalisation in 1948, hotels were divorced from railways under a
separate
Hotels Executive, only to return to them in 1962 as British Transport
Hotels.
The total of 61 in 1901 was now 37, mostly rundown after World War II.
Uneconomic ones began to be sold off, although one new hotel was built,
the Old
Course Hotel in The 29
hotels remaining in 1981 were sold, some returning to a new glory,
albeit with
new and unnecessary names like the Midland Holiday Inn at Manchester,
the
Copthorne (formerly North British) at Glasgow, and the Royal York
(formerly
Royal Station). After 41 years as offices the Great Central Hotel at
London
Marylebone was reconverted to the luxury Regent Hotel, now renamed the
Landmark
Hotel, while the greatest of them all, the Midland Grand, has been
splendidly
restored externally. Painstaking sample restoration of the interior
shows what
treasures remain to be uncovered, but they await finance, which means
finding a
use for the building. In 1948 the
British Transport Commission formed on the
nationalisation of the railways. Its divisions were as follows: - Railway Executive - Hotels Executive - Docks & Inland
Waterways
Executive - Road Passenger Executive - Road Haulage Executive - In 1962 the
British Transport Commission is
abolished and its activities are separated off into the following
public corporations.
- Railway Executive >
British Railways Board
- Hotels Executive >
British Transport Hotels
- Docks & Inland
Waterways Executive is split
-
Docks > British Transport Docks Board
-
Inland Waterways > British Waterways Board
- Road Passenger
Executive > Transport Holding Company
- Road Haulage Executive
>
- In 1982 the British Transport Hotels are privatised and sold off individually. Starved of adequate capital and infrastructure investment for many years, the hotels were profitable but had never been able to fulfil their true potential. Private hoteliers and speculators had always been aware of their real value, and in 1983 when a management buyout failed, 23 of the hotels were quickly purchased by various companies for £50.35 million.
SURVIVING RAILWAY HOTELS LMS Railway Hotels
The
Caledonian Hotel*
LMS The
Caledonian Hilton Edinburgh
Original Name:
The
Caledonian Hotel. Current Name:
The
Caledonian Hilton Edinburgh. Station served:
(Now
closed & demolished). Current Use:
“5
Star” Hotel. Current Owners:
Hilton
Hotel Group Address:
The Caledonian Hilton Edinburgh, Prince’s
Street, Telephone
Number: 0131
222 8888 Website:
www.hilton.co.uk/caledonian
The Central Hotel* LMS The
Quality Hotel Glasgow
Original Name:
The
Central Hotel. Current Name:
The
Quality Hotel Glasgow. Date Built:
1885 Station served:
Current Use:
“3
Star” Hotel. Current Owners:
Quality
Hotel Group (Choice Hotels Address:
Telephone
Number: 0141
221 9680 Website:
http://www.choicehotelseurope.com/hotels/hotel?hotel=GB627 Parent Company Website: http://www.choicehotelseurope.com
(Choice Hotels UK) The Central Hotel was sold out of railway ownership in 1981 with the privatisation of British Transport Hotels.
The
Gleneagles Hotel*
LMS The
Gleneagles Hotel
GLENEAGLES Original Name:
The
Gleneagles Hotel. Current Name:
The
Gleneagles Hotel. Date Built:
1924 Station served:
GLENEAGLES
station. Current Use:
“5
Star” Hotel. Current Owners:
Gleneagles
Hotels Ltd Address:
The Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterarder, Telephone
Number: 01764
662 231 Website:
www.gleneagles.com
The
Welcombe Hotel*
LMS The
Menzies Welcombe Hotel, Spa & Golf Club Original Name:
The
Welcombe Hotel. Current Name:
The
Menzies Welcombe Hotel, Spa and Golf Club. Date Built:
Acquired
1931. Station served:
Current Use:
“4
Star” Hotel. Current Owners:
Menzies
Hotel Group CV37 0NR, England Telephone Number: 0871 472 4024 Website:
www.welcombe.co.uk
The Welcombe Hotel was sold out of railway ownership in 1981 with the privatisation of British Transport Hotels.
The
Turnberry Hotel*
LMS The
Westin Turnberry Resort
TURNBERRY Original Name:
The
Turnberry Hotel. Current Name:
The
Westin Turnberry Resort. Date Built:
1906 Station served:
TURNBERRY
station near Current Use:
“5
Star” Hotel. Current Owners:
Westin
Hotels & Resorts (Part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts) Address:
The
Westin Turnberry Resort, Telephone
Number: 01655
331 000 Website:
www.turnberry.co.uk
The Turnberry Hotel was sold out of railway ownership in 1981 with the privatisation of British Transport Hotels.
The
Midland Hotel*
LMS The Best Western Midland Hotel Original Name:
The
Midland Hotel. Current Name:
The
Best Western Midland Hotel Date Built:
1841. Station served:
Current Use:
“4
Star” Hotel. Current Owners:
Best
Western Hotel Group Address:
Telephone
Number: 01332
345 894 Website: www.midland-derby.co.uk Parent Company Website: www.bestwestern.co.uk
(Best Western Hotels) The Midland Hotel was sold out of railway ownership in 1981 with the privatisation of British Transport Hotels.
The
North Stafford Hotel
LMS The
North Stafford Hotel
STOKE ON Original Name:
The
North Stafford Hotel. Current Name:
The
North Stafford Hotel. Date Built:
1849 Station served:
STOKE
ON TRENT station. Current Use:
“3 Star” Hotel. Current Owners:
Britannia
Hotels Group. Address:
Telephone
Number: 01782
744 477 Website:
www.britanniahotels.com/hotel_home.asp?Page=129
The North Stafford Hotel was sold out of
railway ownership in 1953 by British Railways.
The
Midland Hotel*
LMS The
Midland Hotel
Original Name:
The
Midland Hotel. Current Name:
The Date Built:
1903. Station served:
(Now closed and converted into the
Manchester Central - Convention & Exhibition Complex) Current Use:
“4
Star” Hotel. Current Owners:
Quintessential
Hotels Group Address:
Telephone
Number: 0161
236 3333
The Midland Hotel was sold out of railway ownership in 1981 with the privatisation of British Transport Hotels.
The
Midland Adelphi Hotel*
LMS The
Britannia Adelphi Hotel
Original Name:
The
Midland Adelphi Hotel. Current Name:
The
Britannia Adelphi Hotel. Date Built:
1826,
Rebuilt 1912-14. Station served:
Current Use:
“4
Star” Hotel. Current Owners:
Britannia
Hotels group Address:
Telephone
Number: 0151
709 7200 Website:
www.britanniahotels.com/hotel_home.asp?Page=45
The Midland Adelphi Hotel was sold out of railway ownership in 1981 with the privatisation of British Transport Hotels.
The
Exchange Hotel
LMS Original Name:
The
Exchange Hotel. Current Name:
Date Built:
? Station served:
(Now
closed & demolished, only the facade has been retained) Current Use:
Demolished and converted to offices, retaining only the
facade of the building.
The
Queens Hotel*
LMS The
Queens Hotel
Original Name:
The
Queens Hotel. Current Name:
The
Queens Hotel. Date Built:
1937. Station served:
Current Use:
“4 Star” Hotel. Current Owners:
Quintessential
Hotels Group Address:
Telephone
Number: 0113
243 1323 Website:
www.qhotels.co.uk/hotels/leeds/the_queens/
The Queens Hotel was sold out of railway ownership in 1981 with the privatisation of British Transport Hotels.
The
Station Hotel
LMS The
Station Hotel
Original Name:
The
Station Hotel. Current Name:
The Station Hotel Date Built:
? Station served:
Current Use:
“3
Star” Hotel. Current Owners:
Swallow
Hotel Group Address:
Telephone
Number: 01292
263 268 Website:
www.swallow-hotels.com/hotels/swallow-station-hotel
The Station Hotel was sold out of railway ownership in 1951 by British Railways.
The
Station Hotel
LMS The
Best Western Station Hotel
Original Name:
The
Station Hotel. Current Name:
The
Best Western Station Hotel. Date Built:
1897 Station Served:
Current Use:
“3 Star” Hotel. Current Owners:
Best
Western Hotels group Address:
49
Lovers Walk, Telephone
Number: 01387
254 316 Website:
www.stationhotel.co.uk Parent Company Website: www.bestwestern.co.uk
(Best Western Hotels) The Station Hotel was sold out of railway ownership in 1972 by British Transport Hotels.
The
Station Hotel*
LMS The
Royal Highland Hotel
Original Name:
The
Station Hotel. Current Name:
The
Royal Highland Hotel. Date Built:
1854 Station served:
Current Use:
“3 Star” Hotel. Current Owners:
Privately
Owned Address:
Website:
www.royalhighlandhotel.co.uk
The
Station Hotel
LMS
HOLYHEAD Original Name:
The
Station Hotel. Current Name:
n/a Date Built:
? Station served:
HOLYHEAD
station. Current Use:
Converted to offices The
Station Hotel
LMS The
Quality Hotel Station - Perth
PERTH
GENERAL Original Name:
The
Station Hotel. Current Name:
The
Quality Hotel Station - Perth. Date Built:
1890 Station served:
PERTH
GENERAL station. Current Use:
“3 Star” Hotel. Current Owners:
Quality
Hotels Group (Choice Hotels Address:
Telephone
Number: 0173
862 4141 Website:
www.choicehotelseurope.com/hotels/hotel?hotel=GB628
The
Dornoch Hotel
LMS The
Royal Golf Hotel
DORNOCH Original Name:
The
Dornoch Hotel. Current Name:
The
Royal Golf Hotel. Date Built:
1938 Station Served:
DORNOCH
station (Now closed) Current Use:
“4 Star” Hotel. Current Owners:
Peter de Savary Address:
The Royal Golf Hotel, 1st
Tee, Website: www.royaldornochgolf.co.uk
The
Midland Grand Hotel*
LMS
LONDON ST PANCRAS Original Name:
The
Midland Grand Hotel. Current Name:
N/A. Date Built:
1873. Station Served: |