Holbeck Hall Hotel
Encyclopedia
The Holbeck Hall Hotel was a clifftop hotel
in Scarborough, North Yorkshire
, England
, owned by English Rose Hotels. The hotel had scenic views of the sea and surrounding area. It was built in 1879 by George Alderson Smith as a private residence, and was later converted to a hotel. On 3 June 1993, a landslide began beneath the hotel. This increased, and finally on 5 June 1993, a day of heavy rain, parts of the building dramatically fell into the sea, making news around the world. The remainder of the building had to be demolished by contractors.
Although it was on a clifftop, an information board at the top of the cliff states that the incident was nothing to do with the sea, blaming it on soil creep. This is a common problem in Scarborough, with several paths and pavements clearly starting to slip down the hill. Before the cliff collapsed, there had been some very heavy rainfall, resulting in the muddy cliff turning into sludge. This flowed downhill - quite rapidly for a muddy bank - and ultimately took the hotel with it. In total 27,000m² of mud fell into the sea, and protruded 100 metres further into the sea than the original coastline.
In 1997, it became the subject of a significant court case in English civil law (Holbeck Hall Hotel Limited and another v. Scarborough Borough Council [2000] QB 836 (CA)) when the owners of the hotel sued Scarborough Borough Council for damages, alleging that as owners of the shoreline they had not taken all practical measures to prevent the landslip. The claim was rejected on the grounds that the Council was not liable for the causes of the landslip itself. The case is important for students of both geography and law.
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
in Scarborough, North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, owned by English Rose Hotels. The hotel had scenic views of the sea and surrounding area. It was built in 1879 by George Alderson Smith as a private residence, and was later converted to a hotel. On 3 June 1993, a landslide began beneath the hotel. This increased, and finally on 5 June 1993, a day of heavy rain, parts of the building dramatically fell into the sea, making news around the world. The remainder of the building had to be demolished by contractors.
Although it was on a clifftop, an information board at the top of the cliff states that the incident was nothing to do with the sea, blaming it on soil creep. This is a common problem in Scarborough, with several paths and pavements clearly starting to slip down the hill. Before the cliff collapsed, there had been some very heavy rainfall, resulting in the muddy cliff turning into sludge. This flowed downhill - quite rapidly for a muddy bank - and ultimately took the hotel with it. In total 27,000m² of mud fell into the sea, and protruded 100 metres further into the sea than the original coastline.
In 1997, it became the subject of a significant court case in English civil law (Holbeck Hall Hotel Limited and another v. Scarborough Borough Council [2000] QB 836 (CA)) when the owners of the hotel sued Scarborough Borough Council for damages, alleging that as owners of the shoreline they had not taken all practical measures to prevent the landslip. The claim was rejected on the grounds that the Council was not liable for the causes of the landslip itself. The case is important for students of both geography and law.
External links
- Summary of court case
- Image of hotel shortly after the collapse
- English Rose Hotels
- British Geological Survey case study of the Holbeck Hall landslide