Dolphin Hotel, Southampton

Dolphin Hotel, Southampton
Type	Hotel
Location	34 & 35 High Street, Southampton
Coordinates	50°54′0.2″N 1°24′13.0″W / 50.900056°N 1.403611°W / 50.900056; -1.403611Coordinates: 50°54′0.2″N 1°24′13.0″W / 50.900056°N 1.403611°W / 50.900056; -1.403611
OS grid reference	SU 42035 11352
Area	Hampshire
Built	Before 1454
Owner	Mercure Hotels
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official name	Dolphin Hotel
Designated	14 July 1953
Reference no.	1178854
Location of Dolphin Hotel, Southampton in Southampton

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 was a famous coaching inn during the 17th-century and became quite fashionable during the city's stint as a spa-town from 1750 to 1820.^[2] The Georgian frontage, complete with coaching entrance and oriel windows, said to be the biggest in England, was added about 1760.^[2][3]

After a period of closure the hotel reopened on 4 May 2010 following a £4 million redevelopment programme.^[2]

Guests and ghosts[]

Plaque commemorating Jane Austen's visit

Famous guests have included Queen Victoria, Admiral Lord Nelson, Edward Gibbon, William Makepeace Thackery 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.^[4][2]

References[]

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