North Euston Hotel

North Euston Hotel
Location within Fleetwood
General information
Location Fleetwood, Lancashire, England
Coordinates 53°55′40.8″N 3°0′33.12″W / 53.928000°N 3.0092000°W / 53.928000; -3.0092000Coordinates: 53°55′40.8″N 3°0′33.12″W / 53.928000°N 3.0092000°W / 53.928000; -3.0092000
Opening 1841
Owner Spearman family[1]
Design and construction
Architect Decimus Burton
Listed Building – Grade II
Designated 26 April 1950
Reference no. 1362181

The North Euston Hotel is a hotel in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. It was built 1840–41, to a design by Decimus Burton. During the second half of the 19th century, the building was used by the War Department as a School of Musketry; by the end of the century it had reverted to its original purpose. The hotel has been designated a Grade II listed building by English Heritage.

History

Fleetwood was a 19th-century planned town, developed by local landowner Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood. Inspired by southern English seaside resorts like St Leonards-on-Sea, Hesketh-Fleetwood employed architect Decimus Burton to lay out his new town and design the main buildings.[2] Hesketh-Fleetwood intended that Fleetwood would be an important stop for rail passengers travelling from London to Scotland; in the 1840s, there was no railway over the Lake District hills and passengers would be able to disembark at Fleetwood before taking a boat to Scotland.[3] A hotel was a vital part of this plan and since rail passengers would be embarking at London Euston, Hesketh-Fleetwood decided to name it the North Euston Hotel.[4]

Burton designed the hotel as a focal point in the town.[5] Construction started in 1840 and it opened the following year.[6] A regatta was held in celebration of the hotel's opening in August 1841.[7] The hotel's first manager was a Corsican man called Xenon Vantini.[8] By the 1850s, a direct rail route to Scotland had been built, ending Hesketh-Fleetwood's hopes of Fleetwood becoming a major transport hub.[9] The town's tourist industry was failing and the North Euston was sold to the government.[10] From 1861–1867 the War Department used it as a School of Musketry. Later, with additional buildings, it was converted into Euston Barracks.[9][11] In 1898 the North Euston reverted to its original purpose.[10]

On 26 April 1950 English Heritage designated the hotel a Grade II listed building.[6] The Grade II designation—the lowest of the three grades—is for buildings that are "nationally important and of special interest".[12]

Architecture

The hotel is built of ashlar with slate roofs.[6] It has a curved plan, with a front façade that stretches approximately 300 yards (270 m).[13] The north and south wings have two regular storeys with a mansard roof, and dormers providing accommodation on the third floor. The central portion has three full storeys. The north wing, which faces along the Esplanade, curves almost a full 90 degrees, while the south wing is shorter, curving roughly 45 degrees. At the front of the building there is a porte-cochère (porch) supported by fluted Roman Doric columns.[14]

See also

References

Notes
Footnotes
  1. ↑ "Couple Snap up Euston Hotel", Blackpool Gazette, Johnston Press, 14 October 2009, retrieved 10 July 2011
  2. ↑ Curtis (1994), p. 52
  3. ↑ Curtis (1994), p. 40
  4. ↑ Curtis (1994), p. 53
  5. ↑ Taylor & Payne (2008), p. 38
  6. 1 2 3 Historic England, "North Euston Hotel, Euston Crescent (1362181)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 10 July 2011
  7. ↑ Wigglesworth (1992), p. 38
  8. ↑ Curtis (1994), p. 78
  9. 1 2 Taylor & Payne (2008), p. 39
  10. 1 2 Lancashire County Council & Egerton Lea Consultancy (2005), p. 23
  11. ↑ Porter (1876), p. 225
  12. ↑ "Listed Buildings", National Heritage List for England, English Heritage, retrieved 10 July 2011
  13. ↑ "School of Musketry at Fleetwood", London Society, William Clowes and Sons, 5, pp. 81–84, 1864
  14. ↑ Hartwell & Pevsner (2009), p. 295
Bibliography

Further reading

  • Curtis, Bill (1992), The North Euston Hotel: A Brief History, ISBN 1-68874-368-5 
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