Midland Hotel, Derby

The Midland Hotel

Front entrance, opposite the station
General information
Status Grade II listed building
Type Hotel
Location Midland Road, Derby
Country England
Coordinates 52°54′56″N 1°27′50″W / 52.91568°N 1.46393°W / 52.91568; -1.46393Coordinates: 52°54′56″N 1°27′50″W / 52.91568°N 1.46393°W / 52.91568; -1.46393
Opened 1842
Client Midland Railway
Design and construction
Architect Francis Thompson

The Midland Hotel is a hotel on Midland Road in Derby in the East Midlands of England, adjacent to Derby Midland station. The hotel was designed by Francis Thompson for the Midland Railway in 1842 and is today a grade II listed building.[1][2][3]

Background

The Midland Railway was one of the largest railway companies in Britain. It established itself in Derby more comprehensively than any other railway company in any other town. Derby came to be dominated by railway-related buildings, and the Midland became the town's largest employer. Among its ventures were multiple railway hotels, of which Derby was one of the first.[2]

Architecture and history

The Midland road side of the hotel, viewed from Railway Terrace outside the main station building

The hotel was built by Thomas Jackson of Pimlico in 1841 and was originally a separate enterprise until the Midland purchased it in 1862. The original building is of red brick construction with a rectangular plan, three storeys high with seven bays at the front. The outer bay on either side protrudes slightly. A stone cornice runs beneath the second-floor windows. The windows are decorated with stone frames and balconets (above the ground floor). The inner bays contain singular windows while on the outer bays the windows are arranged in pairs on the first floor and triplets on the top and bottom floors. A second building was added behind the original in the 1930s, linked to the main building by a single-storey block on the Midland Road side. The second building is also in red brick and of a rectangular plan, with a further three storeys of five bays.[1]

The hotel was originally connected to the station by a glass-covered walkway, and its cellars were linked to the station's via an underground passage. The main entrance was originally on the Midland Road side but was moved to face the station during the 1930s expansion. The hotel was acquired by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway after the Midland was amalgamated as a result of the Railways Act 1921 and then by British Rail (through British Transport Hotels) upon nationalisation. British Rail began disposing of its hotel estate and sold the Midland Hotel in 1982. After the demolition of the Euston Hotel in London, the Midland Hotel became the oldest surviving railway hotel in Britain.[2]

The hotel is a grade II listed building and part of Derby's Railway Conservation Area, which encompasses many railway-related buildings to the east of Derby city centre. The conservation area includes the station, multiple surrounding buildings, and the Midland Railway War Memorial, adjacent to the hotel on Midland Road.[1][4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Historic England. "Midland Hotel (1230227)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Biddle, Gordon. Britain's Historic Railway Buildings: A Gazetteer of Structures (Second ed.). Hersham, Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing. pp. 288–289. ISBN 9780711034914.
  3. ↑ Carter, Oliver F. J. (2004). "Thompson, Francis (1808–1895), architect". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  4. ↑ "Derby Conservation Areas - Railway" (PDF). Derby City Council. 21 April 2009. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
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