The Great Western Hotel is the oldest purpose-built hotel in

Newquay Newquay ( ; kw, Tewynblustri) is a town on the north coast in Cornwall, in the south west of England. It is a civil parish, seaside resort, regional centre for aerospace industries, spaceport and a fishing port on the North Atlantic coast of ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. The hotel was originally designed by the Cornish architect

Silvanus Trevail Silvanus Trevail (11 November 1851 – 7 November 1903) was a British architect, and the most prominent Cornish architect of the 19th century. Early life Trevail was born at Carne Farm, Trethurgy in the parish of Luxulyan, Cornwall on 11 Nove ...

and first opened in April 1879. The hotel is built in a prominent position overlooking Great Western Beach. The hotel has 66 rooms, some with sea-views.

History

In December 1877, the local newspaper reported that the owner, had commenced building the hotel, near

Newquay railway station Newquay railway station serves the town and seaside resort of Newquay Newquay ( ; kw, Tewynblustri) is a town on the north coast in Cornwall, in the south west of England. It is a civil parish, seaside resort, regional centre for aerospac ...

,'Newquay News' -Royal Cornwall Gazette - Friday 21 December 1877 The Great Western Railway gave £2,000 towards the building of the hotel. In January 1879 the hotel was completed and it officially opened on 7 April 1879. It was the first in a string of hotels designed to appeal to the renewed interest in Cornwall as a winter resort for the middle classes.

Royal Visit

On a tour of Cornwall in May 1926, The Prince (

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...

) met the Duchy tenants at the hotel, and took tea with them in company with

Sir Walter Peacock Sir Walter Peacock (24 May 1871 – 24 February 1956) was a British Liberal Party politician and barrister who worked for the future King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom during the latter's tenure as Prince of Wales. Background He was the son ...

, Mr. Webster, Mr. Stainer, Duchy stewards.

Architecture

The original 1879 building resembled a large country house with pitched roofs, gable ends and attic windows. In 1931 the original modest two storey gabled building was altered beyond recognition to the current symmetrical art-deco style building, consisting of three storeys with smooth

external render An external render is, in its most basic form, a coating applied to the walls of a building, to provide a protective coating which would prevent rain penetration. It also acts as a decorative finish to enhance the appearance of a building. History ...

, painted frontages,

symmetrical Symmetry (from grc, συμμετρία "agreement in dimensions, due proportion, arrangement") in everyday language refers to a sense of harmonious and beautiful proportion and balance. In mathematics, "symmetry" has a more precise definiti ...

sash window A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned window (architecture), paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double gla ...

s and rusticated

quoin Quoins ( or ) are masonry blocks at the corner of a wall. Some are structural, providing strength for a wall made with inferior stone or rubble, while others merely add aesthetic detail to a corner. According to one 19th century encyclopedia, t ...

detailing to corners. The Hotel is recognised as a historic building and is recorded on The Historic Environment Record of Cornwall.

Great Western Beach

Before the railway came to Newquay in 1876, the beach was known as Bothwick Sands. It wasn't until the Great Western Hotel was built in 1879, (overlooking the beach) that it was gradually became known as Great Western Beach, although on many Ordnance Survey maps and holiday guides until the 1960's both names were mentioned. Despite the name being linked to the hotel, the beach is a public amenity.

References

{{reflist Hotels in Cornwall Newquay Hotels established in 1879 Hotel buildings completed in 1879 1879 establishments in England Silvanus Trevail buildings