Royal Clarence Hotel

Royal Clarence Hotel

The hotel in 2015
Former names
  • Assembly Rooms
  • The Hotel
  • Cadogen Hotel
  • Thompsons Hotel
  • Phillips Hotel
General information
Type Hotel
Address Cathedral Yard
Town or city Exeter
Country England
Coordinates 50°43′24″N 3°31′49″W / 50.72333°N 3.53028°W / 50.72333; -3.53028Coordinates: 50°43′24″N 3°31′49″W / 50.72333°N 3.53028°W / 50.72333; -3.53028
Named for Adelaide, Duchess of Clarence
Opened 1769 (1769)
Closed 28 October 2016 (2016-10-28)
Demolished November 2016
Owner Andrew Brownsword Hotels[1]
Designations Grade II listed
Other information
Number of rooms 53 bedrooms[1]
Website
www.abodeexeter.co.uk
The hotel and surrounding buildings from the roof of the north tower of Exeter Cathedral in 2010

The Royal Clarence Hotel was a hotel in Cathedral Yard, Exeter, Devon, England. It was credited as the first property in England to be called a hotel. Since 2005 the 53-bedroom hotel[1] was branded as ABode Exeter.[2] The building was destroyed by fire in October 2016.

History

The hotel was built in 1769 as the Assembly Rooms by William Mackworth Praed, a son of William Mackworth Praed (died 1752).[3] He also developed the adjacent building on the corner of Martin's Lane for the Exeter Bank, of which he was one of the founding members, with John Duntze, Joseph Sanders and Daniel Hamilton.[4]

The hotel provided "a commodious room for holding public balls, assemblies, concerts, &c.".[5] In September 1770, an advertisement for the property was placed by its French manager, Pierre Berton, describing it as an "hôtel". By 1776, it was known as The Hotel. It subsequently took various names, including the Cadogen Hotel, Thompsons Hotel, and Phillips Hotel. In 1806, it was described as:

a large and commodious Inn, with elegant apartments and accommodation for people of the first Quality, with a large assembly-room in which are held the Assize Balls, Concerts and Winter assemblies, of the most distinguished persons of the City and County. In the front is a neat Coffee-room: the situation of the Hotel is very pleasant, as it opens to the Parade, and commands a noble view of the Cathedral.[6]

The hotel was one of the leading coaching inns in Exeter. It was visited by Admiral Nelson in 1801,[7] and was renamed as the Royal Clarence Hotel after a visit by Adelaide, Duchess of Clarence in July 1827. Franz Liszt performed with six other musicians in two concerts at the hotel on 28 and 29 August 1840[8] (a blue plaque on the building, erected by Exeter Civic Society in 2013, commemorated that event[9]). Other visitors included Beatrix Potter in 1892, Thomas Hardy in 1915, and actors Clark Gable and Gary Cooper during the Second World War.[7]

Between 2000 and 2015, the hotel was co-owned and run by celebrity chef Michael Caines, who set up ABode with business partner Andrew Brownsword.[10] Brownsword bought the hotel in 2003 for £4.5 million.[1]

Building

Doorway of the Royal Clarence Hotel, 2013

There was a range of medieval buildings on the site of the present buildings in Cathedral Yard. Some elements of these were retained in later reconstruction: the party wall between the Royal Clarence Hotel and the next property includes the remains of a 15th or 16th-century timber-framed side wall, two storeys high, belonging to a former building with roof line parallel to the street.[11][12] The original 1769 building was partly remodelled in the Egyptian style in 1827,[13] when it was also extended to incorporate the former Exeter Bank building adjoining Martin's Lane.[14] Later alterations considerably changed the interior,[13] though it retained its timber framing. It gained listed building status (Grade II) in 1953 as part of the group of listed buildings in Cathedral Yard.[15]

2016 fire

The hotel and adjoining buildings after the 2016 fire

On 28 October 2016 the hotel was gutted by a fire which began at 5 a.m. in an adjoining building part-used as an art gallery (the Castle Fine Art gallery), which was being converted at the time into luxury flats.[16] Hotel guests were evacuated to the nearby Mercure Southgate Hotel, and no casualties were reported.[17] The fire was later fuelled by a ruptured gas main,[18] and part of the frontage of the building collapsed.[19] The interior of the grade II listed building where the fire started, 18 Cathedral Yard,[20] was also destroyed, and the two listed buildings between were damaged,[21][22] but firefighters prevented the fire spreading to other historic buildings. Over a hundred firefighters attended the incident and it was necessary to draw water from the Rive Exe to fight the fire. The people of Exeter helped by giving the firefighters free food and messages of support, and by limiting their use of water.[23]

After assessments were completed and remaining hotspots extinguished,[24] demolition of the building started on 2 November,[25] but there are efforts to salvage historically important material from the wreckage.[26] The Christmas market in Cathedral Green has made provision for the independent traders who were closed since the fire.[27] The hotel's owner, Andrew Brownsword, said on 31 October: "We have every intention to rebuild the hotel with enormous sympathy to its importance and heritage, and to make it once again a building that the City of Exeter will be proud of."[28] A laser survey of the Royal Clarence made two years before the fire could help architects reconstruct the facade and the hotel.[29]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Janet Harmer, "Andrew Brownsword speaks of devastating loss of Royal Clarence hotel", The Caterer, 29 October 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016
  2. ↑ ABode Exeter. Retrieved 28 October 2016
  3. ↑ Griffiths, Grace (1989). History of Teignmouth (3rd ed.). Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire: Ex Libris Press. p. 77. ISBN 0-948578-17-3.
  4. ↑ Ryton, John (1984). Banks and Banknotes of Exeter 1769-1906. Exeter: John Ryton. p. 23. ISBN 0-9508666-0-1.
  5. ↑ Alexander Jenkins, The History and Description of the City of Exeter: And Its Environs, Ancient and Modern, Civil and Ecclesiastical, 1806, p.213
  6. ↑ Jenkins, Alexander (1806). The History and Description of the City of Exeter, and its Environs, Ancient and Modern, Civil and Ecclesiastical. Exeter: P. Hedgeland. p. 317.
  7. 1 2 The Royal Clarence Hotel, Cathedral Close, Exeter Memories, 12 December 2008. Retrieved 28 October 2016
  8. ↑ Harvey, Hazel (2011). The Story of Exeter. Phillimore. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-86077-678-6.
  9. ↑ Plaque #13098 on Open Plaques.
  10. ↑ "Michael Caines MBE: "Did cuts hinder Royal Clarence fire crews?", Express & Echo, 28 October 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016
  11. ↑ Parker, Richard; Allan, John (2015). "The Transformation of the Building Stock of Exeter 1450-1700". In John Allan, Nat Alcock, David Dawson. West Country Households 1500–1700. Boydell Press. pp. 51–2. ISBN 978-1-84383-994-1.
  12. ↑ Jane Mathews , "Royal Clarence Hotel in Exeter starts to collapse following blaze", The Telegraph, 29 October 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016
  13. 1 2 Meller, Hugh (1989). Exeter Architecture. Chichester: Phillimore. p. 23. ISBN 0-85033-693-7. ... now, behind the stucco facade, the only faintly discernible style is Edwardian.
  14. ↑ Cherry, Bridget; Nikolaus Pevsner (1991). Devon. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. p. 413-414. ISBN 0-300-09596-1.
  15. ↑ Royal Clarence Hotel, British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 28 October 2016
  16. ↑ "Exeter fire: Gutted building was being converted into luxury flats", "Exeter Express and Echo", 28th October 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2016
  17. ↑ "Luxury Hotel in Exeter City Centre – ABode Exeter". Archived 17 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  18. ↑ "Exeter fire: Royal Clarence Hotel collapses in blaze". BBC News. 29 October 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  19. ↑ "Exeter fire: Royal Clarence Hotel collapses as blaze rages", BBC News, 29 October 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2016
  20. ↑ "Architecture experts mourn loss of "irreplaceable" interior in building where fire started", Express & Echo, 29 October 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2016
  21. ↑ Gale, Damien (29 October 2016). "Exeter fire: little of historic Royal Clarence Hotel remains". theguardian.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  22. ↑ Exeter blaze destroys hotel thought to be oldest in Britain The Guardian
  23. ↑ Royal Clarence fire: demolition to begin as firefighters thank Exeter public The Guardian
  24. ↑ "Royal Clarence fire: Engineers assess fire-ravaged hotel". BBC News. 2016-10-30. Retrieved 2016-10-30.
  25. ↑ "Royal Clarence Hotel in Exeter demolished after blaze", BBC News, 2 November 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2016
  26. ↑ Historic Remains will be Salvaged from Royal Clarence Hotel Wreckage
  27. ↑ Exeter's Christmas Market to go ahead after huge fire ITV
  28. ↑ Martin Fullard, "Royal Clarence Hotel owner has “every intention to rebuild” after fire", Conference News, 31 October 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016
  29. ↑ Laser survey could help rebuild Royal Clarence Hotel BBC

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