The Old Ship Hotel (also known as the Old Ship Inn and previously as The Ship) is a hotel in central Brighton, UK, which contains the Old Ship Assembly Rooms, a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

. The building is the oldest hotel in Brighton, as the hotel is believed to have been built in 1559, with the assembly rooms being added in 1767.

History

The Old Ship Hotel is believed to date from 1559, as an unnamed house owned by Richard and John Gilham. It is the oldest hotel in Brighton, and the first known record was in 1665. The building was purchased in 1671 by Nicholas Tettersell, who owned the boat Charles II used to get to France. The

assembly room In Great Britain and Ireland, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, assembly rooms were gathering places for members of the higher social classes open to members of both sexes. At that time most entertaining was done at home and there were ...

s were built in 1767 in response to assembly rooms built at the nearby Castle Inn; the rooms were built by Robert Golden, with the

Adam style The Adam style (or Adamesque and "Style of the Brothers Adam") is an 18th-century neoclassical style of interior design and architecture, as practised by Scottish architect William Adam and his sons, of whom Robert (1728–1792) and James (17 ...

inspired by

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his ...

. The assembly rooms contained a ballroom on the first floor, which hosted the Prince Regent's Ball, as well as card and tea rooms. Until 1777, the building hosted the town's

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

. In the 18th century, the hotel was visited by

Frances Burney Frances Burney (13 June 1752 – 6 January 1840), also known as Fanny Burney and later Madame d'Arblay, was an English satirical novelist, diarist and playwright. In 1786–1790 she held the post as "Keeper of the Robes" to Charlotte of Mecklen ...

and Samuel Johnson; Johnson had an argument with the local priest, Henry Michell. In 1780, the assembly rooms hosted card evenings on Tuesday and Saturday, although the ballroom was later closed in 1814. The building was expanded in 1794, and the Ship Street corner block was added in 1835. In 1821, the magistrates' court was moved to the Old Ship, in 1831, Niccolo Paganini gave a concert in the assembly rooms, and in 1835,

Gideon Mantell Gideon Algernon Mantell MRCS FRS (3 February 1790 – 10 November 1852) was a British obstetrician, geologist and palaeontologist. His attempts to reconstruct the structure and life of ''Iguanodon'' began the scientific study of dinosaurs: in ...

gave a lecture on

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ea ...

and organic remains at the Old Ship Hotel.

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

stayed at the hotel in 1841, and other Victorian visitors to the hotel included Robert Schumann's wife,

Sims Reeves John Sims Reeves (21 October 1821 – 25 October 1900) was an English operatic, oratorio and ballad tenor vocalist during the mid-Victorian era. Reeves began his singing career in 1838 but continued his vocal studies until 1847. He soon establ ...

Luigi Lablache Luigi Lablache (6 December 1794 – 23 January 1858) was an Italian opera singer of French and Irish ancestry. He was most noted for his comic performances, possessing a powerful and agile bass voice, a wide range, and adroit acting skills: Lepo ...

Marietta Alboni Maria Anna Marzia (called Marietta) Alboni (6 March 1826 – 23 June 1894) was a renowned Italian contralto opera singer. She is considered "one of the greatest contraltos in operatic history". Biography Alboni was born at Città di Castello, i ...

, Julius Benedict,

Charles Santley Sir Charles Santley (28 February 1834 – 22 September 1922) was an English opera and oratorio singer with a ''bravura''From the Italian verb ''bravare'', to show off. A florid, ostentatious style or a passage of music requiring technical skill ...

Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...

Herbert Beerbohm Tree Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (17 December 1852 – 2 July 1917) was an English actor and theatre manager. Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre in the West End, winning praise for adventurous progr ...

, and

Henry Howard, 13th Duke of Norfolk Henry Charles Howard, 13th Duke of Norfolk, (12 August 179118 February 1856), styled Earl of Surrey between 1815 and 1842, was a British Whig politician and peer. Background Norfolk was the son of Bernard Edward Howard, 12th Duke of Norfolk, ...

. By 1885, the assembly rooms had been turned into auction rooms. In the 1930s, the Old Ship began accepting homosexual men in one wing of the hotel. The assembly rooms became a

in 1952.

Notes

References

External links

Grade II* listing

Old Ship Hotel website
{{Brighton and Hove buildings 1559 establishments in England Hotels in Brighton and Hove Grade II* listed buildings in Brighton and Hove Grade II* listed hotels