Great Western Hotel, Reading
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The Malmaison Hotel Reading (formerly the Great Western Hotel) is a
grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...
in the town of
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
in the English county of
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
. It is situated at the junction of Blagrave Street and Station Road, directly opposite the main entrance to
Reading railway station Reading railway station is a major transport hub in the town of Reading, Berkshire, Reading in Berkshire, England, it is west of . It is sited on the northern edge of the town centre, near to the main retail and commercial areas and the River ...
and Thames Tower. It was opened in 1844, shortly after the
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
opened its line from London, and is thought to be the oldest surviving purpose-built railway hotel in the world.


History

When the
Great Western Main Line The Great Western Main Line (GWML) is a main line railway in England that runs between London Paddington and . It connects to other main lines such as those from Reading to Penzance and Swindon to Swansea. The GWML is presently a part of t ...
from London to Bristol was completed in 1841 a hotel was needed for people visiting the town. According to
English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...
, the building is likely to have been designed by
Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel ( ; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", "one of the 19th-century engi ...
, who was GWR's Chief Engineer at the time of its construction and who incorporated similar features in the Royal Station Hotel at Slough (which was demolished in 1938). The building was completed in 1844 and was used as a hotel until a fire in the 1960s. Subsequently, the building was used as offices until it was renovated by the Malmaison hotel chain and reopened, in 2007, as the Malmaison Hotel.


References


External links


The Malmaison Hotel, Reading
on the Maimaison website Hotel buildings completed in 1844 Hotels in Reading, Berkshire Railway hotels in England Tourist attractions in Reading, Berkshire Grade II listed buildings in Reading Grade II listed hotels Great Western Railway Isambard Kingdom Brunel buildings and structures Hotels established in 1844 {{Berkshire-struct-stub