St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel
Encyclopedia
St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel (est. 2011) is a hotel in London
, England
, adjacent to St Pancras railway station
. It opened in March 2011 occupying parts of the former Midland Grand Hotel (1873-1935), including the main public rooms, together with a new bedroom wing on the western side of the Barlow train-shed. The upper levels of the original building have been redeveloped as apartments by the Manhattan Loft Corporation.
, still under construction at the time. Eleven designs were submitted, including one by George Gilbert Scott
, which at 300 rooms was much bigger and costlier than the original specifications. However the company liked it and construction began. The east wing opened in 1873 and the rest followed in Spring 1876. The hotel was upscale and expensive with costly fixtures including a grand staircase, rooms with gold leaf walls and a fireplace in every room. The building had many innovative features such as hydraulic lifts, concrete floors, revolving doors and a fireproof floor construction, though as was the convention of the time none of the guest rooms had bathrooms.
The hotel was taken over by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
in 1922, before closing in 1935, by which time its utilities were outdated and too costly to maintain, such as the armies of servants needed to carry chamber pot
s, tubs, bowls and spittoon
s. The building was renamed St Pancras Chambers and used as offices for British Rail
. In the 1980s it failed fire safety regulations and was shut down. The exterior was restored and made structurally sound at a cost of around £10 million in the 1990s.
Planning permission was granted in 2004 for the building to be redeveloped into a new hotel. The St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel opened on 21 March 2011 to guests; however, the formal Grand Opening was on the 5th May - exactly 138 years after its original opening in 1873.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, 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...
, adjacent to St Pancras railway station
St Pancras railway station
St Pancras railway station, also known as London St Pancras and since 2007 as St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus celebrated for its Victorian architecture. The Grade I listed building stands on Euston Road in St Pancras, London Borough of Camden, between the...
. It opened in March 2011 occupying parts of the former Midland Grand Hotel (1873-1935), including the main public rooms, together with a new bedroom wing on the western side of the Barlow train-shed. The upper levels of the original building have been redeveloped as apartments by the Manhattan Loft Corporation.
Midland Grand Hotel
In 1865 the Midland Railway Company held a competition for the design of a 150-bed hotel to be constructed next to its railway station, St PancrasSt Pancras railway station
St Pancras railway station, also known as London St Pancras and since 2007 as St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus celebrated for its Victorian architecture. The Grade I listed building stands on Euston Road in St Pancras, London Borough of Camden, between the...
, still under construction at the time. Eleven designs were submitted, including one by George Gilbert Scott
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott was an English architect of the Victorian Age, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses...
, which at 300 rooms was much bigger and costlier than the original specifications. However the company liked it and construction began. The east wing opened in 1873 and the rest followed in Spring 1876. The hotel was upscale and expensive with costly fixtures including a grand staircase, rooms with gold leaf walls and a fireplace in every room. The building had many innovative features such as hydraulic lifts, concrete floors, revolving doors and a fireproof floor construction, though as was the convention of the time none of the guest rooms had bathrooms.
The hotel was taken over by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
in 1922, before closing in 1935, by which time its utilities were outdated and too costly to maintain, such as the armies of servants needed to carry chamber pot
Chamber pot
A chamber pot is a bowl-shaped container with a handle, and often a lid, kept in the bedroom under a bed or in the cabinet of a nightstand and...
s, tubs, bowls and spittoon
Spittoon
A spittoon is a receptacle made for spitting into, especially by users of chewing and dipping tobacco. It is also known as a cuspidor , although that term is also used for a type of spitting sink used in dentistry."Spittoon" can also be slang American English...
s. The building was renamed St Pancras Chambers and used as offices for British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
. In the 1980s it failed fire safety regulations and was shut down. The exterior was restored and made structurally sound at a cost of around £10 million in the 1990s.
Planning permission was granted in 2004 for the building to be redeveloped into a new hotel. The St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel opened on 21 March 2011 to guests; however, the formal Grand Opening was on the 5th May - exactly 138 years after its original opening in 1873.