Royal Victoria Hotel - Alterations by HenryWard
The Royal Victoria Hotel St Leonard on Sea, designed by James Burton was opened 28th October 1829 as the St Leonards Hotel. It was renamed 1835 by Royal Warrant as the Royal Victoria Hotel.
The hotel was soon used by many famous people including royalty from Britain and Europe. With 500 distinguished visitors recorded in the visitor book of the Hotel.
Henry Ward ARIBA awarded the work to repair and upgrade.
After being open for 70 years the hotel was experiencing some structural defects and the directors needed to rectify a range of problems and a decision to allocate £10,000 (around £600,000 today) for repairs and upgrade was agreed, local architect Henry Ward was instructed to execute the work. The main issues demanding attention being the roof, inadequate north entrance and windows.
The Hastings Observer 12th March 1904
"After being closed for a year it has been almost entirely reconstructed under the able architectural advice and direction of Mr Henry Ward 8 Bank Buildings Hastings.The handsome front entrance at once strikes the visitor as a great improvement and the pleasure is increased when instead of a narrow staircase, as formerly,one finds oneself in a spacious Hall leaving by broad marble columned staircase to the lounge on the principal floor.
The common rooms are spacious and comfortable. At the Eastern end is an entirely new dining room capable of seating 200 or 300 people. An ingenious arrangement here provides for the comfort of the guests; the waiters and attendants instead of using the corridor, leave the room direct, and use a private passage leading to the kitchen. A well fitted smoking room and coffee room and excellent lounge and beautifully furnished reading rooms all call for favorable criticism.
On all the floors there is a telephone and a complete service. The hotel is fitted throughout with electricity, and in each of the bedrooms there are two lights one over the dressing table and the other over the bed the building has been entirely redecorated built to the simple plan each floor is divided by Street corridor running down the center from end-to-end rooms open onto it on each side is the uniform coloring of the corridors which are carpeted alike throughout the building. Furnishings have been carried out to parently without the cost the fittings are in exquisite taste and the southern rooms on the first floor form a lovely suite of ten or twelve apartments opening on to one another even the cheaper rooms are tastefully furnished to their notable feature of the hotel is the prevalence of large mirrors which have a great effect in the lighting the boot rooms beautiful hotel the accommodation has been practically doubled they are now 87 bedrooms and 8 or 9 private sitting rooms with easy rooms for 100 people hotel open to the public last Tuesday and already a new era of prosperity in the parent is apparently dawning the bookings have been very good and for Easter the prospect point to a surplus of guest
"After being closed for a year it has been almost entirely reconstructed under the able architectural advice and direction of Mr Henry Ward 8 Bank Buildings Hastings.The handsome front entrance at once strikes the visitor as a great improvement and the pleasure is increased when instead of a narrow staircase, as formerly,one finds oneself in a spacious Hall leaving by broad marble columned staircase to the lounge on the principal floor.
The common rooms are spacious and comfortable. At the Eastern end is an entirely new dining room capable of seating 200 or 300 people. An ingenious arrangement here provides for the comfort of the guests; the waiters and attendants instead of using the corridor, leave the room direct, and use a private passage leading to the kitchen. A well fitted smoking room and coffee room and excellent lounge and beautifully furnished reading rooms all call for favorable criticism.
On all the floors there is a telephone and a complete service. The hotel is fitted throughout with electricity, and in each of the bedrooms there are two lights one over the dressing table and the other over the bed the building has been entirely redecorated built to the simple plan each floor is divided by Street corridor running down the center from end-to-end rooms open onto it on each side is the uniform coloring of the corridors which are carpeted alike throughout the building. Furnishings have been carried out to parently without the cost the fittings are in exquisite taste and the southern rooms on the first floor form a lovely suite of ten or twelve apartments opening on to one another even the cheaper rooms are tastefully furnished to their notable feature of the hotel is the prevalence of large mirrors which have a great effect in the lighting the boot rooms beautiful hotel the accommodation has been practically doubled they are now 87 bedrooms and 8 or 9 private sitting rooms with easy rooms for 100 people hotel open to the public last Tuesday and already a new era of prosperity in the parent is apparently dawning the bookings have been very good and for Easter the prospect point to a surplus of guest
The press were invited to the opening and 21 titles accepted the invitation to come to St Leonard's to see the refurbished hotel.
"Daily News," "Telegraph," "Standard," "Morning Post." "Financial Times," "Illustrated London News," "Financial Times" "Illustrated London News," "Sketch," "City Press," "Court Circular," "Court Journal," "Field," "Bystander," "King," "Lady's Pictorial," " Queen," "Referee," "Guardian," "Saturday Review," "Caterer," "Vanity Fair," "Country Life,"
"Daily News," "Telegraph," "Standard," "Morning Post." "Financial Times," "Illustrated London News," "Financial Times" "Illustrated London News," "Sketch," "City Press," "Court Circular," "Court Journal," "Field," "Bystander," "King," "Lady's Pictorial," " Queen," "Referee," "Guardian," "Saturday Review," "Caterer," "Vanity Fair," "Country Life,"