Midland Hotel, Bradford
Encyclopedia
The Midland Hotel is a 90-bedroom
three-star
Victorian
hotel
in Bradford
City Centre, owned and managed by London
-based Peel Hotels
.
The architect was Charles Trubshaw
, who was contracted to design many stations for Midland Railway Company.
Construction of the hotel began in 1885 and took five years to complete.
It was built by the Midland Railway Company as part of the original Forster Square Railway Station
, as a showpiece for the company's northern operations.
Following the "golden age of steam" the hotel fell into disrepair until it was bought by Bradford entrepreneur John Pennington in 1992, who restored it and the hotel re-opened as the Pennington Midland Hotel in 1993.
It was sold to Peel Hotels in December 1998, who returned it back to its original name.
During its life, the hotel has played host to many famous guests, including every Prime Minister
up to Harold Wilson
, and Sir Henry Irving
, an English stage actor, who died there in 1905.
Bedroom
A bedroom is a private room where people usually sleep for the night or relax during the day.About one third of our lives are spent sleeping and most of the time we are asleep, we are sleeping in a bedroom. To be considered a bedroom the room needs to have bed. Bedrooms can range from really simple...
three-star
Star (classification)
Stars are often used as symbols for classification purposes. They are used by reviewers for ranking things such as movies, TV shows, restaurants, and hotels. For example, one to five stars is commonly employed to categorize hotels.-Restaurant ratings:...
Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
in Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
City Centre, owned and managed by London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
-based Peel Hotels
Peel Hotels
Peel Hotels plc is a hotel company operating in the United Kingdom. It operates eight hotels and is listed on the AIM.The company was founded in 1998 by Robert Peel, when he bought the Bull Hotel in Peterborough...
.
The architect was Charles Trubshaw
Charles Trubshaw
Charles Trubshaw was an architect specifically associated with railway buildings on the London and North Western Railway and Midland Railway lines...
, who was contracted to design many stations for Midland Railway Company.
Construction of the hotel began in 1885 and took five years to complete.
It was built by the Midland Railway Company as part of the original Forster Square Railway Station
Bradford Forster Square railway station
Bradford Forster Square station is a railway station in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The majority of services to/from the station use Class 333 electrified trains operated by Northern Rail, on the Airedale Line to Skipton, the Wharfedale Line to Ilkley and the Leeds-Bradford Line to Leeds.The...
, as a showpiece for the company's northern operations.
Following the "golden age of steam" the hotel fell into disrepair until it was bought by Bradford entrepreneur John Pennington in 1992, who restored it and the hotel re-opened as the Pennington Midland Hotel in 1993.
It was sold to Peel Hotels in December 1998, who returned it back to its original name.
During its life, the hotel has played host to many famous guests, including every Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
up to Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
, and Sir Henry Irving
Henry Irving
Sir Henry Irving , born John Henry Brodribb, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility for season after season at the Lyceum Theatre, establishing himself and his company as...
, an English stage actor, who died there in 1905.