Grand Victorian Reflections - Scarborough

The Grand Hotel

The hotel was designed by the Hull architect Cuthbert Brodrick, who was better known as the designer of several Leeds buildings, and when completed in 1867 was one of the largest hotels in the world, as well as one of the first giant purpose-built hotels in Europe. The hotel's distinctive yellow (also referred to as tawny) brickwork was made locally in Hunmanby and is complemented with traditional red brickwork around the windows.

The building is designed around the theme of time: four towers to represent the seasons, 12 floors for the months of the year, 52 chimneys symbolise the weeks, and originally there were 365 bedrooms, one for each day of the year. Following the renovation the room count was reduced to 280. The hotel itself is in the shape of a 'V' in honour of Queen Victoria. The hotel's heyday was arguably during Victorian times, when wealthy holidaymakers made up the establishment's clientele. As Scarborough was a famous spa town, the building's baths originally included an extra pair of taps, so guests could wash in seawater as well as fresh.

Construction began in 1863 and was completed in 1867, at a cost of over £100,000. At the time, it was the largest brick building in Europe. The first manager was M. Augustus Fricour, who had previously been in charge at the Hotel Mirabeau in Paris. The grand opening was on 24 July 1867.