Imperial Hotel, London

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Imperial Hotel
Imperial Hotel, Russell Square, 2017
Imperial Hotel, Russell Square, 2017
Imperial Hotel, London is located in Central London
Imperial Hotel, London
Location within Central London
Hotel chainImperial London Hotels
General information
Address61-66 Russell Square
Town or cityLondon, WC1B 5BB
CountryUnited Kingdom
Coordinates51°31′18″N 0°07′27″W / 51.5218°N 0.1241°W / 51.5218; -0.1241Coordinates: 51°31′18″N 0°07′27″W / 51.5218°N 0.1241°W / 51.5218; -0.1241
Website
www.imperialhotels.co.uk/hotels/IMPERIAL

The Imperial Hotel is a hotel on the east side of Russell Square, a branch of Imperial London Hotels.[1]

Former building (1911-1966)[]

Imperial Hotel, the original building, about 1915
The Lounge, about 1920

The original building was designed by Charles Fitzroy Doll and built between 1905 and 1911. The height of the building was 61 meters and there were 15 floors.[2] In its opening year it was used by the first all Indian cricket team to tour England.[3]

An extension to the hotel took place in 1913. As part of the extension, Turkish baths were constructed.[4] The hotel had about 640 bedrooms.[5] The building was equally colossal as its neighbour the Kimpton Fitzroy London Hotel and the architectural style was a mixture of Art Nouveau Tudor and Art Nouveau Gothic, combining terra-cotta ornaments in which the corbels, gargoyles and statues were modelled with red brick. Towers rose above a high mansard roof of green copper. A Winter Garden occupied the ground floor between the two bedroom wings. Both Winter garden and Turkish Baths were decorated in glazed Doulton ware.[6]

Demolition of the building started in 1966 and was completed in 1967.[2][7] It was demolished because of its lack of bathrooms and because, according to the Greater London Council, the whole frame of the building was structurally unsound. There was no possibility of saving it if a preservation order had been placed on the building. In truth, however, the building was probably a victim of fashion and the prevailing taste in the 1960s.[8] All that remains of the building are 21 statues from the Turkish Baths, bells and a galleon, now placed in the courtyard of the current hotel.[9]

Current building[]

The hotel was replaced by a new building of the same name.[10]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Imperial London Hotels - Great Value Central London Hotel Rooms From £54 Per Night | Imperial Hotels". imperialhotels.co.uk. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Imperial Hotel, London | 1201988 | EMPORIS". www.emporis.com.
  3. ^ Alderman, Elgan. "Hundreds and heatwaves: the story of the 1911 All India tour to England that helped shape the country's identity". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 2021-11-29. Retrieved 2021-12-04.
  4. ^ "Turkish baths at Imperial Hotel". London Remembers.
  5. ^ Vintage postcard from 1930s says:"640 bedrooms with hot & cold water, telephones, radio, central heating. Fully licensed""
  6. ^ Stamp, Gavin (2010). Lost Victorian Britain. London: Aurum Press Ltd. p. [page/59 61]. ISBN 9781845135324.
  7. ^ Baker, Roger (1968). The Book of London. London: Michael Joseph Ltd. p. [page 128].
  8. ^ Hobhouse, Hermione (1971). Lost London. London & Basingstoke: MacMillan London. p. [page 207].
  9. ^ "Imperial Hotel - statue 15". London Remembers.
  10. ^ Hobhouse, Hermione (1972). Lost London ([1st American ed.] ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. p. 207. ISBN 9780395135211.

External links[]

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