The Royal Station Hotel, Newcastle. Left: Central bays. Right: Seen from the adjacent station.
The Royal Station Hotel, Newcastle. John Dobson (1787-1865) and others. There are conflicting accounts of its origins. Newcastle's local government "Sitelines" website lists it as "circa 1850" extended "c.1890"; according to Gordon Biddle, it was built in 1854, as an "integral part" of Dobson's station frontage (49), and extended in 1892; but the listing text of this Grade II listed building states that it was built in 1861-63 to the designs of Thomas Prosser (c.1817 -1888), based on earlier plans by Dobson. Certainly, Prosser, who designed York Station as well, was the North Eastern Railway's first permanent architect. This account adds that it was extended in 1888-90, and then later too by William Bell (1844-1919), who became Chief Architect of the company. Interestingly, too, it is not mentioned in Margaret Dobson's memoir of her father. However, that might simply mean that it was considered part of the station complex.
Whatever the extent of Dobson's involvement and the date of its completion, it was constructed of sandstone ashlar, with a dark slate roof, and stands next to the Newcastle Central Station on Neville Street, Newcastle. Complementing the "magnificent and unequalled station" itself, which had been formally opened by Queen Victoria in August 1850 ("Her Majesty's Visit"), it was a prestigious amenity for the city.
The hotel has an appropriately grand entrance in a projecting near-central bay, with steps up through ornate ironwork supporting a glass canopy. It has a mansard roof, with the pedimented dormers. According to Elaine Denby, all this puts the hotel among a "small group of pioneering railway hotels" which demonstrate a "transition from neo-classical to the beginnings of revivalism." More specifically, Denby writes (taking it for granted that Dobson was the moving spirit here) that for this project he "moved towards a more sophisticated French Renaissance revival treatment well suited to the character of northern stonework." Contrasting the hotel with the more Italianate Royal Station Hotel recently built in Hull, Denby continues, "Some Roman Renaissance details may be recognised in the rustication and the window pediments, but Parisian ideas show in the mansard roof and centre pavilion, speaking more of the Louvre than of the Palazzo Farnese" (48). Most of the original 10-bay building is shown on the left above. While greatly increasing the number of rooms, from 50 to 133 (again, this estimate sometimes varies), the late Victorian extension does seem to have been sympathetic to the original design.
Later Interiors (under Architect, William Bell)
The decorative scheme adopted after the Royal Station Hotel's extension is notable for its large-scale use of fashionable Burmantofts faience. The following images and captions come from a handbook showing examples of the ceramic firm's work for prospective clients. The hotel interiors are featured towards the end (the pages are unnumbered).
Left: Treatment of Doorways, Office Front and Walls in Burmatofts Faience. Right: Burmatofts Faience Treatment to Counter, Doorway, Columns, Walls, and Ceilings.
The listing text gives the important information that the faience was in a whole range of colours, and that much of it still exists, even if painted over or hidden from sight by later wall coverings. On the whole, the account suggests, "the hotel offers an almost complete example of a C19 hotel, with early-C20 additions that serve to enhance its interest, and an interior that retains its original plan form throughout."
Left: Smoke Room. Decoration of Walls, Columns, Ceiling, and Fireplace with Overmantel in Burmatofts Faience. Right: Treatment of Walls, Office, and Doorways in Burmatofts Faience.
Related Material
Photographs and scans by Jacqueline Banerjee. You may use these images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer/person who scanned the images and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one. [Click on the images to enlarge them.]
Bibliography
Biddle, Gordon. The Railway Heritage of Britain: 150 Years of Railway Architecture and Engineering. London: Michael Joseph, 1983.
Burmantofts. Leeds: Leeds Fireclay Co. Ltd., 1902. Internet Archive, from a copy in the Canadian Centre for Architecture. Web. 2 July 2024.
Denby, Elaine. Grand Hotels: Reality and Illusion. London: Reaktion Books, 1998. See Chapter 3, "Europe Burgeoning."
Dobson, Margaret Jane. Memoir of John Dobson.... with A List of His Works..... London: Hamilton, Adams, and Co., 1885. Internet Archive, from a copy in Oxford University Library. Web. 2 July 2024.
"Her Majesty's Visit." The Newcastle Courant, 23 August 1850, Part I, p. 4, column 4. 19c. British Library Newspapers. Web. 30 December 2011.
Newcastle, Neville Street, Royal Station Hotel . newcastle.gov.uk. Web 2 July 2024.
Station Hotel, Newcastle Upon Tyne. British Listed Buildings. Web. 30 December 2011.
Created 30 December 2011
Last modified 2 July 2024