The Randolph Hotel, also known as The Randolph Hotel by Graduate Hotels, is a 5-star hotel in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, on the south side of

Beaumont Street Beaumont Street is a street in the centre of Oxford, England. The street was laid out from 1828 to 1837 with elegant terraced houses in the Regency architecture, Regency style. Before that, it was the location of Beaumont Palace, now noted by ...

, at the corner with

Magdalen Street Magdalen Street is a short shopping street in central Oxford, England, just north of the original north gate in the city walls. Traditionally, the name of the street is pronounced and not as the name of the Magdalen College, Oxford, Magdale ...

, opposite the

Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street in Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University ...

and close to the

Oxford Playhouse The Oxford Playhouse is a theatre designed by Edward Maufe and F. G. M. Chancellor. It is situated in Beaumont Street, Oxford, opposite the Ashmolean Museum. History The Playhouse was founded as ''The Red Barn'' at 12 Woodstock Road (Oxford), W ...

. The hotel building is in the

Victorian Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style. The hotel featured in the ''

Inspector Morse Endeavour Morse, GM, is the namesake character of the series of "Morse" detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, a Detective Chief Inspector in the Thames Valley Police in Oxford, England. On television he was portrayed by John ...

'' television series several times, in particular the episode " The Wolvercote Tongue". The cast stayed at the hotel during filming in 1987 and there is now a Morse Bar. It was also in the follow-up series '' Lewis''.

History

1885 Randolph Hotel Oxford ad Harpers Handbook for Travellers in Europe

Construction of the Randolph Hotel began in 1864, to a design by William Wilkinson, an architect who also designed many houses in

North Oxford North Oxford is a suburban part of the city of Oxford in England. It was owned for many centuries largely by St John's College, Oxford and many of the area's Victorian architecture, Victorian houses were initially sold on leasehold by the co ...

. There was debate about the building's design.

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...

favoured

Gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

like the nearby

Martyrs' Memorial The Martyrs' Memorial is a stone monument positioned at the intersection of St Giles', Magdalen Street and Beaumont Street, to the west of Balliol College, Oxford, England. It commemorates the 16th-century Oxford Martyrs. History The mo ...

. The

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

wanted a

classical style Classical architecture typically refers to architecture consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or more specifically, from ''De architectura'' (c. 10 AD) by the Roman architect Vitruvius. Va ...

since the rest the buildings in Beaumont Street were early 19th century

Regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

. A compromise was attained with a simplified Gothic façade, similar to the

Oxford University Museum The Oxford University Museum of Natural History (OUMNH) is a museum displaying many of the University of Oxford's natural history specimens, located on Parks Road in Oxford, England. It also contains a lecture theatre which is used by the univers ...

and the

Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest unive ...

buildings, but in brick. The hotel was named not after

Lord Randolph Churchill Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill (13 February 1849 – 24 January 1895) was a British aristocrat and politician. Churchill was a Tory radical who coined the term "One-nation conservatism, Tory democracy". He participated in the creation ...

, who was connected with

Blenheim Palace Blenheim Palace ( ) is a country house in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough. Originally called Blenheim Castle, it has been known as Blenheim Palace since the 19th century. One of England's larg ...

to the north of Oxford, but after Dr Francis Randolph, an eighteenth century university benefactor. The university or Randolph Galleries (now part of the Ashmolean Museum) were built as a result of a thousand-pound gift left by Dr Randolph, a former Principal of

St Alban Hall St Alban Hall, sometimes known as St Alban's Hall or Stubbins, was one of the academic halls of the University of Oxford, medieval halls of the University of Oxford, and one of the longest-surviving. It was established in the 13th century, acqu ...

(now part of

Merton College Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor ...

), who died in 1796. The hotel was opened in 1866. Major refurbishments of the hotel were undertaken in 1952, 1978, 1988 and 2000. During the 1952 renovations, an extension was added to the west, designed by J. Hopgood. On 17 April 2015, the Randolph Hotel had a "significant fire" (declared by the Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service). The fire was confirmed to have started in the kitchens on the ground floor. It spread through building voids, eventually reaching the roof. The emergency services were called at 16:46 and came at about 16:52. There were no casualties, and the Oxfordshire Fire Service praised the hotel for its "quick evacuation processes." The fire ended around 20:00. It was caused by the cooking of

flambé Flambé (, , ; also spelled flambe) is a cooking procedure in which Ethanol, alcohol is added to a hot pan to create a burst of flames. The word means "flamed" in French language, French. Flambéing is often associated with the tableside presen ...

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...

in the kitchen. The Randolph Hotel was acquired in 2019 by the American chain Graduate Hotels.

References

External links

Hotel Website
{{coord , 51.7550, -1.2596, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title 1866 establishments in England Hotel buildings completed in 1864 Hotels established in 1866 Hotels in Oxford Grade II listed buildings in Oxford

Burned buildings and structures in the United Kingdom