VBT-HOTEL IN MANCHESTER 6 tot 8 oktober

Transcription

1 - 1 - VBT-HOTEL IN MANCHESTER 6 tot 8 oktober Britannia Manchester Hotel (hotel in het voormalige Watts Warehouse) Portland Street, Manchester, M1 3LA Tel: +44-(0) Fax: +44-(0) Websites van Britannia Manchester hotel: Het Britannia Hotel is gevestigd in het voormalige Watts Warehouse. Voor meer historische informatie over dit gebouw, zie de pagina 3)

2 - 2 - VBT-HOTEL IN LIVERPOOL 8 t/m 10 oktober Jurys Inn (hotel vlakbij het Albert Dock) No.31 Keel Wharf, Liverpool tel: +44 (0) website van Jurys Inn Liverpool: Jurys Liverpool is a brand new hotel opening in time for the European Capital of Culture celebrations. Jurys Inn is part of the New Kings Waterfront development, located on the banks of the River Mersey immediately south of Albert Dock and opposite the new Paradise Street development,

3 - 3 - Watts Warehouse Ons Hotel Britannia is gehuisvest in dit voormalig warehouse (by Wikipedia) Built in Manchester's Portland Street, just off Piccadilly Gardens in for S&J Watts by the architects Travis and Magnell, this spectacular building housed the largest wholesale drapery business in the city, and is regarded by many authorities as the queen of Manchester's warehouses. From the start it was regarded as an ambitious and showy structure, eminently suited to its owner, a self-made businessman and entrepreneur. The building is constructed using classical devices, each storey in a different style - Italian Renaissance, Elizabethan, French Renaissance and Flemish, and each corner is topped by a large tower with Gothic Rose Windows. It typifies the confidence of its owner and the civic pride which men such as he had for the city of Manchester. He numbered the rich and famous among his friends - politicians and churchmen all dined regularly at his home in Cheadle, and Prince Albert chose to stay with him when he visited Manchester to open the Art Treasures Exhibition in The building narrowly avoided demolition in 1972, and now thrives as the Britannia Hotel. History The Watts family The textile firm S & J Watts was founded by James Watts, a Mancunian industrialist and entrepreneur, whose textile business had started in a small weaver's cottage in Didsbury. His success as a cotton trader was part of the commercial boom of the 19th century that gave Manchester the name "Cottonopolis", when the city was a global centre for the cotton trade.

4 Watts became an important figure among British industrialists, socialising with politicians and churchmen at his home, Abney Hall, in Cheadle. Prince Albert chose to stay with him when he visited Manchester to open the Art Treasures Exhibition in Construction The sandstone ashlar warehouse was built by local architects Travis & Mangnall in at a cost of 100,000. Its ornate style typifies the extravagant confidence of many Mancunian warehouses of this period, but the Watts Warehouse is notable for its peculiarly eclectic design. Designed in the form of a Venetian palazzo, the building has five storeys, each decorated in a different style Italian Renaissance, Elizabethan, French Renaissance and Flemish and roof pavilions featuring large Gothic wheel windows. The interior was similarly lavish in its decoration, with a sweeping iron cantilever staircase, balconied stairwell, and mahogany counters for displaying merchandise The entrance

5 - 5 - the stairwell War memorial During the First World War , many employees of S & J Watts lost their lives in battle. The company marked this by erecting a memorial in 1922 in the main entrance to the building on Portland Street. A bronze sculpture, "the Sentry", stands in an arched niche on the right, and on the opposite side is a marble plaque commemorating the dead. The bronze statue depicts the sentry wearing a

6 Tommy helmet, World War I battle gear and a cape, standing on guard with his rifle with fixed bayonet upright, and was commissioned from the British sculptor Charles Sargeant Jagger who also designed the Royal Artillery Memorial at Hyde Park Corner, London. A statuette version of the figure is to be seen in the study of Eltham Palace, where it was displayed by Stephen Courtauld, a member of the Artists' Rifles, as was Jagger. To the enduring memory of those members of the staff of S & J Watts & Co. who laid down their lives for their King and country in the cause of truth, justice and freedom during the Great War. Their name liveth for evermore. The Blitz During the Second World War, the Watts Warehouse was hit by Luftwaffe bombs, but it was saved from destruction when the fire was smothered by textiles. Conversion to a hotel The textile industries that built Manchester eventually dwindled, and like many other industrial structures in the North of England, Watts Warehouse fell into disuse and was derelict for many years. The building was threatened with demolition in 1972, but was spared. In the 1980s, the building underwent conversion, retaining many of the original interior features. In May 1982, the Britannia Hotel opened as part of the Britannia Hotels chain originally with 25 rooms and a nightclub, eventually expanding to 363 bedrooms