The Royal Hotel is a

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and human-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In ma ...

former

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 ...

and now commercial and apartment building located at 108 William Street, Bathurst,

Bathurst Region Bathurst Regional Council is a local government area in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is located adjacent to the Great Western Highway, Mid-Western Highway, Mitchell Highway and the Main Western railway line ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia. The property is privately owned. It was added to the

New South Wales State Heritage Register The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...

on 2 April 1999.

History

The Royal is one of the oldest surviving hotels in Bathurst. The original building was constructed in the 1840s.McGuire, Paul (1952), ''Inns of Australia'', Melbourne, William Heinemann, p.141 The hotel was gradually enlarged and embellished during the latter part of the nineteenth century. This development culminated in the three storied balconied facade to William Street with its rich cast iron decoration added in the 1880s. This facade is largely retained on the two upper floors and could be seen as the ultimate aesthetic development of the building.Havenhand & Mather, 1985 The land on which it was built was granted to George Kable on 7 May 1805. In October 1842 the Hotel was purchased by Nicholas Read. On Read's death in 1863 the property passed to his son Richard who in 1869 mortgaged the property to Blunden and Meyer. The hotel was offered to let by tender in the ''Bathurst Free Press and Mining Journal'' on 4 December 1872. The tender notice indicates that at the time the Royal was a two-storey establishment with 8 parlours, 30 bedrooms, a dining/assembly hall seating 300, billiard room, kitchens and 2 stables accommodating 40 horses. In the ''Bathurst Times'' of 25 March 1878 it was noted that "improvements" had been carried to the Royal. These included alterations and additions to the verandah and 'tastefully arranged open work screen with circular headed doorway abutting the footpath. They were apparently a great success as their effect was "not as of a mere improvement but that a new and handsome building has been erected". The hotel was still a two storeyed building. The hotel was put up for auction by Blunden and Meyer in 1880 and was purchased by George Denny for

A£ The pound (Currency symbol, sign: £, £A for distinction) was the currency of Australia from 1910 until 14 February 1966, when it was replaced by the Australian dollar. Like other £sd currencies, it was subdivided into 20 Shilling (Australian ...

5,010. It was probable that George Denny added the third level and cast iron verandahs that appear in the 1880 photograph. Noted in the ''Bathurst Guide'', 1893, the Royal had added its third storey and provided accommodation for 75 people. The dining room appears to have reduced in size from the 300 capacity noted in 1872 to seating for 80 people. The present tiled facade of the ground floor was added in the 1940s. The Royal Hotel closed in the early 1960s. In the 1980s, the

National Trust of Australia The National Trust of Australia, officially the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT), is the Australian national peak body for community-based, non-government non-profit organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's Ind ...

(NSW) and the Bathurst community expressed concern for the future of the building. In recognition of the building's State significance and to ensure its future the Heritage Council of NSW recommended to the Minister the making of a Permanent Conservation Order. A Permanent Conservation Order was placed over the building on 7 October 1983. The Department of Planning in conjunction with Bathurst City Council purchased the property with a view to restoring the building. A Conservation Policy was prepared by Havenhand & Mather Architects in 1985. In 1987 the building was offered for sale through tender. The building was sold and the restoration of the building, in accordance with the Conservation Policy by Havenhand & Mather Architects, was a condition of sale. In the early 1990s the Royal Hotel was restored with funds provided by the Heritage Assistance Program. (Heritage Office files)

Description

The Victorian

veranda A veranda (also spelled verandah in Australian and New Zealand English) is a roofed, open-air hallway or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front an ...

hs and

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

added in the 1880s was in 1985 still largely intact and featured excellent cast iron posts and railings – including a personalised "R" to the shield on each

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

. The physical condition of the building was reported to be excellent as of 24 July 2000.

Heritage listing

The Royal Hotel operated for approximately 120 years and forms a major part of the social history of Bathurst and has been a participant in or the backdrop to, many of the historical events of the city. It is also the only example of an elaborate three storey verandah hotel surviving in Bathurst and is prominently situated near the south-eastern end of King's Parade making a distinctive contribution to the townscape of the Bathurst Urban Conservation Area. Royal Hotel was listed on the

on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales. The Royal Hotel has formed and played a continuous and significant role in the history of Bathurst for over 140 years. The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales. The fine Victorian verandah facade of the Royal Hotel is the last remaining example of a style once common to Bathurst. The Royal Hotel makes an important contribution to the streetscape and urban environment of Kins Parade, the heart of the urban and civic area of Bathurst. The place has strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons. It was the leading Bathurst hotel of the nineteenth and early twentieth century and was important in the social development of Australia's oldest inland city.

References

Bibliography

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Attribution

External links

{{commons category-inline, Royal Hotel, Bathurst New South Wales State Heritage Register Bathurst, New South Wales Pubs in New South Wales Articles incorporating text from the New South Wales State Heritage Register Commercial buildings in New South Wales