Westgate Hotel

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Westgate Hotel
Gwesty Porth Gorllewin
A view of the Westgate Hotel
Westgate Hotel from Westgate Square
Location within Newport
Location within Newport
Location within Newport
General information
StatusMostly derelict
Architectural styleRegency and French Renaissance
ClassificationGrade II listed
LocationCommercial Street, Newport
AddressWestgate Buildings, Commercial Street
Town or cityNewport
CountryWales
Coordinates51°35′16″N 2°59′48″W / 51.587814°N 2.996713°W / 51.587814; -2.996713
Current tenantsUnoccupied
Opened1884
Renovated1950
Closed2000s
Design and construction
ArchitectE. A. Lansdowne
For the Las Vegas hotel formerly known as the Las Vegas Hilton, see Westgate Las Vegas.

The Westgate Hotel, Commercial Street, Newport, Wales is a hotel building dating from the 19th century. On 4 November 1839 the hotel saw the major scenes of the Newport Rising, when 3,000 Chartists led by John Frost marched on Newport to attempt to secure the release of five of their number who were being held under arrest at the hotel. Around 100 British Army soldiers killed 22 of the civilian Chartists and wounded more than 50. The hotel is a Grade II listed building.

History[]

Main article: Newport Rising

After the demolition of Newport's original West city gate, the site was reclaimed and a hotel constructed in 1779 on the site of a previous 15th-century house.

The Westgate Hotel was the location of the last large-scale armed rebellion against authority in Great Britain. On 4 November 1839, local politician and activist John Frost led a protest march of 3,000 Chartists into the centre of Newport. Here he discovered that several Chartists had been arrested and were being held in the Westgate Hotel. British Army troops protecting the hotel opened fire on the marchers, killing 22 people and wounding more that 50 others.[1] Small holes in the pillars at the entrance to the hotel are assumed, by some, to be bullet holes from the insurrection, although this has not been evidenced.[2] The hotel was substantially rebuilt in 1884 but the original pillars were retained.[3] The story of the rebellion was reflected in the Manic Street Preachers' 2014 song "The View from Stow Hill".[4][5]

In 1884 the original hotel was demolished, and the present structure constructed in French Renaissance style. Designed by local architect E. A. Lansdowne, it incorporated six shops at ground floor level to increase the site's rental income, and placed a new five-storey hotel above, with twice the floor size of the hotel it replaced,[6] and included an ornate ballroom.[7] Built by local builder John Linton, it was leased from its opening in 1886 to Samuel Dean of the Castle Hotel for twenty one years.[8]

In 1991 three statues, titled "Union, Prudence, Energy" by sculptor Christopher Kelly, commemorating the 1839 Chartist uprising were installed on Commercial Street in front of the hotel.[1] The hotel also featured in the 1978 Chartist Mural which was demolished during the development of Friars Walk in Newport city centre. In 2009 the building was placed on the Buildings at Risk Register as it had been substantially unoccupied for many years and the condition of its interior was beginning to cause concern. The main staircase and richly decorated public rooms are amongst the best surviving examples in the UK of their period.[9]

In 2012 Newport Unlimited announced an initiative to bring the hotel back into use.[10] In May 2017 the property was offered for auction with a guide price of between £1.5M and £1.75M. The building was purchased in October 2017 by Rugby Property Assets Limited of Warwickshire.[11]

In July 2019, Our Chartist Heritage announced they would re-open part of the Westgate Buildings for a temporary display. The charity worked with the consortium who own the building, and local Newport graphic artist Josh Cranton, to bring the building up to a viable state for public access, ahead of the anniversary of the Chartist Rising. The interior was repainted and a free display was organised to commemorate the events of the rising.[12]

The hotel is a Grade II listed building.[13]

Gallery[]

  • Westgate Hotel interior shown during the 2019 partial opening

  • The attack of the Chartists on the Westgate Hotel, 4 November 1839

  • Union, Prudence, Energy, sculpture outside The Westgate Hotel commemorating the Chartist Movement and 1939 Newport Rising 1839

References[]

  1. ^ a b John Frost: Leader of the Chartist Rebellion, BBC Wales southeast, last update August 2009. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
  2. ^ Westgate Hotel pillars
  3. ^ "Westgate Hotel, Newport (21116)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  4. ^ Notes from the Band
  5. ^ "Newport rebellion, 1839 - the battle for the Westgate Hotel". Chartist Ancestors. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  6. ^ "The New Westgate Hotel Newport Mon". The Building News. 9 April 1886. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  7. ^ "The Ball Room, Westgate Hotel Newport Mon". The Building News. 23 April 1886. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  8. ^ "1886- Westgate Hotel, Newport, Wales". The Building News/Archiseek. 9 April 1886. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  9. ^ Register of Buildings at Risk (PDF) (Report). Newport City Council. June 2009. p. 54. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  10. ^ Westgate Hotel investigation
  11. ^ "Newport's Westgate Hotel sold". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  12. ^ "Hotel at the centre of Chartist uprising to open its doors for first time in more than a decade for graphic novel launch". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  13. ^ Cadw. "Westgate Hotel (Grade II) (3015)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 2 April 2020.

Coordinates: 51°35′15″N 2°59′48″W / 51.5876°N 2.9966°W / 51.5876; -2.9966

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