Carlton Hotel, London
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The Carlton Hotel was a luxury hotel in London that operated from 1899 to 1940. It was designed by the architect C. J. Phipps as part of a larger development that included the rebuilding of
Her Majesty's Theatre His Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated in the Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The building, designed by Charles J. Phipps, was constructed in 1897 for the actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who ...
, which is adjacent to the hotel site. The Carlton was originally run by the Swiss hotelier
César Ritz César Ritz, born Cäsar Ritz (23 February 1850 – 26 October 1918), was a Swiss hotelier and founder of several hotels, most famously the Hôtel Ritz Paris, Hôtel Ritz in Paris and the The Ritz London Hotel, Ritz and Carlton Hotel, London, Ca ...
, with
Auguste Escoffier Georges Auguste Escoffier (; 28 October 1846 – 12 February 1935) was a French chef, restaurateur, and culinary writer who popularised and updated traditional French cooking methods. Much of Escoffier's technique was based on that of Marie-A ...
as the head chef. In its early days it was one of London's most fashionable hotels and drew some customers away from the
Savoy Hotel The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August 1 ...
, which Ritz and Escoffier had previously managed. The hotel lost some of its prestige after Ritz retired, but continued to trade profitably until it was badly damaged by German bombing in 1940. The British government requisitioned the building in 1942. After the Second World War the shareholders of the hotel sold the lease of the site, and the surviving parts of the building were demolished in 1957–58. The site is now occupied by the 17-storey block of the New Zealand High Commission.


History


Origins

The site, on the corner of the Haymarket and Pall Mall, part of the
Crown Estate The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priva ...
, was leased by the
Commissioners of Woods, Forests and Land Revenues The Commissioners of Woods, Forests and Land Revenues were officials under the United Kingdom Crown, charged with the management of Crown lands. Their office were customarily known as the Office of Woods. Under the Crown Lands Act 1851 ( 14 & 15 ...
to the
Earl of Dudley Earl of Dudley, of Dudley Castle in the County of the West Midlands (though previously in the County of Stafford) is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, both times for members of the Ward family. Hist ...
. Dudley died in 1885, when the lease had six years left to run. In 1890, the Commissioners entered into a building agreement with the property developer Tod Heatley to redevelop the site. After prolonged negotiation and litigation, the development was taken over in 1895 by Law Guarantee and Trust Society, Ltd, which commissioned the theatre architect C. J. Phipps to draw up plans to rebuild
Her Majesty's Theatre His Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated in the Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The building, designed by Charles J. Phipps, was constructed in 1897 for the actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who ...
and to construct a hotel on the site alongside. The actor-manager
Herbert Beerbohm Tree Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (17 December 1852 – 2 July 1917) was an English actor and Actor-manager, theatre manager. Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre in the West End theatre, West End, winning ...
agreed to take a lease of the theatre, the Office of Woods approved the plans, and building started in July 1896.Sheppard, F. H. W
"The Haymarket Opera House"
''Survey of London'', British History Online, accessed 8 June 2011
When building work began,
César Ritz César Ritz, born Cäsar Ritz (23 February 1850 – 26 October 1918), was a Swiss hotelier and founder of several hotels, most famously the Hôtel Ritz Paris, Hôtel Ritz in Paris and the The Ritz London Hotel, Ritz and Carlton Hotel, London, Ca ...
and
Auguste Escoffier Georges Auguste Escoffier (; 28 October 1846 – 12 February 1935) was a French chef, restaurateur, and culinary writer who popularised and updated traditional French cooking methods. Much of Escoffier's technique was based on that of Marie-A ...
were employed by
Richard D'Oyly Carte Richard D'Oyly Carte (; 3 May 1844 – 3 April 1901) was an English talent agent, theatrical impresario, composer, and hotelier during the latter half of the Victorian era. He built two of London's theatres and a hotel empire, while also establi ...
as manager and chef de cuisine respectively at the
Savoy Hotel The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August 1 ...
. They were already planning to set up independently, and had established the Ritz Hotel Development Company, when Carte dismissed them both in 1897 for financial irregularities.Ashburner, F
"Escoffier, Georges Auguste (1846–1935)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, May 2011, accessed 9 June 2011
After successfully opening the Hôtel Ritz in Paris the following year, Ritz agreed to take a 72-year Crown lease of the new hotel in London. A limited company, The Carlton Hotel, Limited, was formed. The name Carlton comes from
Carlton House Carlton House, sometimes Carlton Palace, was a mansion in Westminster, best known as the town residence of George IV, during the regency era and his time as prince regent, before he took the throne as king. It faced the south side of Pall M ...
, the nearby former home of the
Prince Regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness) or ab ...
. The company's prospectus stated: Construction of the hotel was not yet complete when Phipps died in 1897. The architectural partnership of Lewis Isaacs and Henry L. Florence were appointed to complete the building. The ''
Survey of London The Survey of London is a research project to produce a comprehensive architectural survey of central London and its suburbs, or the area formerly administered by the London County Council. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Robert Ashbee, an A ...
'' quoted a contemporary critic, Edwin Sachs, who commented on the hotel and theatre: "The treatment is considered to be in the French Renaissance style and stone has been used throughout. The detail cannot, however, be termed satisfactory, nor does the exterior architecturally express the purpose of the building." The ''Survey'' adds, however: "Present-day connoisseurs of late-Victorian architecture are less censorious, and many will regret the partial demolition of a building which, though overspiced with eclectic details, had considerable panache." In the prospectus, the directors of The Carlton Hotel Limited wrote, "Mr. Ritz and the Directors believe that the hotel and restaurant will at once take precedence of similar establishments in London." The most conspicuous "similar establishment" was the Savoy, which found its status as London's most fashionable hotel under threat. F. Ashburner, a biographer of Escoffier, has written, "From its opening he Carltonattracted much of the Savoy's clientele, including the
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...
and the
Marlborough House Marlborough House, a Grade I listed mansion on The Mall in St James's, City of Westminster, London, is the headquarters of the Commonwealth of Nations and the seat of the Commonwealth Secretariat. It is adjacent to St James's Palace. The ...
set. It paid out a dividend of 7 per cent in its first year to its influential financial and aristocratic backers, and for many years it was considered the finest hotel in London."


Twentieth century

Ritz's satisfaction at pulling ahead of the Savoy was short lived. At the height of the fame of the Carlton, Ritz was preparing to mark the coronation of
Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...
in 1902 with much-publicised and elaborate festivities when the king suddenly fell ill, and the coronation was postponed indefinitely. The shock caused Ritz to suffer a severe nervous breakdown and sent him into retirement, leaving Escoffier as the figurehead at the Carlton. Richard D'Oyly Carte had died in 1901, but his son
Rupert D'Oyly Carte Rupert D'Oyly Carte (; 3 November 1876 – 12 September 1948) was an English hotelier, theatre owner and impresario, best known as proprietor of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and Savoy Hotel from 1913 to 1948. Son of the impresario and hotelie ...
reinvigorated the Savoy Hotel and the other hotels in his ownership, such as
Claridge's Claridge's is a 5-star hotels, 5-star hotel at the corner of Brook Street, London, Brook Street and Davies Street in Mayfair, London. The hotel is owned and managed by the Maybourne Hotel Group. History Founding Claridge's traces its origins to ...
. When Claridge's needed a new chef in 1904, Carte secured the services of François Bonnaure, formerly chef at the
Élysée Palace The Élysée Palace (, ) is the official residence of the President of France, President of the French Republic in Paris. Completed in 1722, it was built for Louis Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, a nobleman and army officer who had been appointed g ...
in Paris. The press speculated on how much Carte must have paid to persuade Bonnaure to join him, and compared the younger Carte's audacity with his father's coup in securing Paris's most famous ''maître d'hôtel'', M. Joseph, a few years earlier. Without Ritz, the Carlton had no hotelier of flair to compete with Carte. Nevertheless, with Escoffier presiding in the kitchens, the Carlton continued to be one of London's leading hotels, yielding substantial profits for its shareholders. Apart from two spells of poor results, the first in the early years of the First World War and the second at the beginning of the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, the Carlton remained profitable until the Second World War. ''
The Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' commented that the hotel's "grill room looked very old fashioned and glum in latter years, but still Mr.
Andrew Mellon Andrew William Mellon (; March 24, 1855 â€“ August 26, 1937), known also as A. W. Mellon, was an American banker, businessman, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector, and politician. The son of Mellon family patriarch Thomas Mellon ...
and other major millionaires thought it the only satisfactory place in London." The future Vietnamese communist leader
Ho Chi Minh (born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), colloquially known as Uncle Ho () among other aliases and sobriquets, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and politician who served as the founder and first President of Vietnam, president of the ...
allegedly worked at the Carlton Hotel during 1913, training as a
pastry chef A pastry chef or pâtissier (; feminine pâtissière, ) is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods. They are employed in large hotels, bistros, restaurants, bakeries, b ...
under Escoffier, but the claim lacks documentary evidence. Nonetheless the London Vietnam Association erected a
Blue Plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...
on the hotel's site marking the connection. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
the hotel was badly damaged by German bombing in 1940. The residential parts of the building were permanently closed. In 1942 remaining parts of the building were requisitioned as offices by the British government, although the American Bar and grill room of the hotel remained open. The hotel never reopened. In 1949 the company sold the unexpired portion of its lease to the government of New Zealand for £325,000; the site was proposed for the new High Commission of New Zealand. In 1951 The Carlton Hotel Limited went into voluntary liquidation."Carlton Hotel to be Wound Up", ''The Times'', 4 May 1951, p. 11 The hotel was demolished in 1957–58, and the High Commission was built on the site.


See also

*
List of demolished buildings and structures in London This list of demolished buildings and structures in London includes buildings, structures and urban scenes of particular architectural and historical interest, scenic buildings which are preserved in old photographs, prints and paintings, but whic ...
*
Carlton Hotel (disambiguation) Carlton Hotel may refer to: * Carlton Hotels & Suites, a Hotel Chain in the Middle East * The Carlton Tower Jumeirah, London, United Kingdom * Carlton Cannes Hotel, France * Carlton Hotel (Atascadero, California) * Carlton Hotel, Beirut, Lebanon * ...
*
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational company that operates the luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 luxury hotels and resorts in 30 countries and territories with 29,158 rooms, in addit ...
: A distantly related American company


Notes


External links

* {{Coord, 51.5078, -0.1315, type:landmark_region:GB-WSM, display=title Hotel buildings completed in 1899 Hotels in the City of Westminster Hotels established in 1899 Defunct hotels in London 1899 establishments in England Demolished hotels in the United Kingdom Demolished buildings and structures in London Buildings and structures demolished in 1957