Dolphin Hotel, Southampton

The hotel in 2007
Plaque commemorating Jane Austen's visit

The Dolphin Hotel is a Grade II* listed 4-star hotel, which is the oldest in Southampton, Hampshire.[1][2] Recorded mentions of the hotel date back to 1454 although it is believed to older than this and remnants of the original medieval timbers, and stone vaulting are extant.[2] The hotel reopened on 4 May 2010 following a £4 million redevelopment programme.[2]

The hotel was a famous coaching inn during the 17th-century and became quite fashionable the city's stint as a spa-town from 1750 to 1820.[2] The Georgian frontage complete with coaching entrance and bow windows, said to be the biggest in England, was added in the late 18th century.[2] Famous guests have included Queen Victoria, Admiral Lord Nelson, Edward Gibbon, William Makepeace Thackary and Jane Austen, who celebrated her 18th birthday there in 1793.[2] Molly, a maid seen gliding across the ground floor from the legs up, is the most famous of the hotel's six reported resident ghosts.[3][2]


References

  1. ↑ "Mercure Southampton Centre Dolphin Hotel". Mercure.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Mercure Southampton Centre Dolphin Hotel - A Brief History". Mercure.
  3. ↑ "Ghost of City's Past". Daily Echo. 31 October 2002.

Coordinates: 50°54′0.2″N 1°24′13.0″W / 50.900056°N 1.403611°W / 50.900056; -1.403611

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