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Midland Hotel (Manchester)
Encyclopedia
The Midland is a 312 bedroom grand hotel situated in Manchester city centre
, in North West England
. Opened in September 1903, it was built by the Midland Railway
to serve the adjacent Manchester Central railway station
. A covered walkway into the station was built but demolished shortly after the Second World War.
in 1898-1903 for the Midland Railway Company
. It is situated near to Manchester Central (formerly the G-Mex Centre and originally Manchester Central railway station
), the Bridgewater Hall
and Manchester Central Library
. Its distinctive style is made of red brick and brown terracotta
, with the exterior clad in several varieties of polished granite
and Burmantoft
terracotta. The building is grade II* listed.
The hotel was regularly used by American cotton
traders whilst they were on business selling their raw cotton to Lancashire
cotton cloth manufacturers; the businessmen collectively referred to themselves as the Old Colony Club. One of the hotel's restaurants has been renamed the Colony in recognition of this fact.
The Midland Hotel was also allegedly coveted by Adolf Hitler
as a possible Nazi headquarters in Britain
.
The hotel was franchised as a Crowne Plaza hotel, known as Crowne Plaza Manchester - The Midland. The Midland then joined the Paramount Hotel
Group (now Barcelo UK) in 2004 and received a £12 million upgrade to become a five-star hotel. A short while after purchase by Paramount the hotel was transferred to the then sister company of Paramount and its current owners Leeds
based QHotels (formerly Quintessential Hotels). The hotel offers 312 en-suite bedrooms with 14 suites. There are two restaurants including the double AA Rosette winning French Restaurant. There is also a health club with swimming pool
, gym
and squash court.
in 1906. More recent celebrity stays include Paul McCartney
, the Spice Girls, the Beckhams
George Best
, Tom Jones
, Luciano Pavarotti
, Mike Tyson
, Jennifer Lopez
, Prince Edward
, former British Prime Ministers
Tony Blair
and Gordon Brown
as well as the current Prime Minister
David Cameron
. The Beatles
were famously refused access to the French Restaurant for being "inappropriately dressed".
Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother dined in what was the Trafford Restaurant in November 1959 after attending a Royal Variety Performance
at the Palace Theatre
. It was the first time a crowned head had dined in a public restaurant.
Manchester City Centre
Manchester city centre is the central business district of Manchester, England. It lies within the Manchester Inner Ring Road, next to the River Irwell...
, in North West England
North West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
. Opened in September 1903, it was built by the Midland Railway
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
to serve the adjacent Manchester Central railway station
Manchester Central railway station
Manchester Central railway station is a former railway station in Manchester City Centre, England. One of Manchester's main railway terminals between 1880 and 1969, it now houses an exhibition and conference centre named Manchester Central.-History:...
. A covered walkway into the station was built but demolished shortly after the Second World War.
The hotel
Situated on Peter Street and Lower Mosley Street in the city centre, the Midland was built by Charles TrubshawCharles Trubshaw
Charles Trubshaw was an architect specifically associated with railway buildings on the London and North Western Railway and Midland Railway lines...
in 1898-1903 for the Midland Railway Company
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
. It is situated near to Manchester Central (formerly the G-Mex Centre and originally Manchester Central railway station
Manchester Central railway station
Manchester Central railway station is a former railway station in Manchester City Centre, England. One of Manchester's main railway terminals between 1880 and 1969, it now houses an exhibition and conference centre named Manchester Central.-History:...
), the Bridgewater Hall
Bridgewater Hall
The Bridgewater Hall is an international concert venue in Manchester city centre, England. It cost around £42 million to build and currently hosts over 250 performances a year....
and Manchester Central Library
Manchester Central Library
Manchester Central Library is a circular library south of the extended Town Hall in Manchester, England. It acts as the headquarters of the Manchester Library & Information Service, which also consists of 22 other community libraries.Designed by E...
. Its distinctive style is made of red brick and brown terracotta
Architectural terracotta
Terracotta, in its unglazed form, became fashionable as an architectural ceramic construction material in England in the 1860s, and in the United States in the 1870s. It was generally used to supplement brick and tiles of similar colour in late Victorian buildings.It had been used before this in...
, with the exterior clad in several varieties of polished granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
and Burmantoft
Burmantofts Pottery
Burmantofts Pottery was the common trading name of a manufacturer of ceramic pipes and construction materials, named after the Burmantofts district of Leeds, England....
terracotta. The building is grade II* listed.
The hotel was regularly used by American cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
traders whilst they were on business selling their raw cotton to Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
cotton cloth manufacturers; the businessmen collectively referred to themselves as the Old Colony Club. One of the hotel's restaurants has been renamed the Colony in recognition of this fact.
The Midland Hotel was also allegedly coveted by Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
as a possible Nazi headquarters in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
The hotel was franchised as a Crowne Plaza hotel, known as Crowne Plaza Manchester - The Midland. The Midland then joined the Paramount Hotel
Paramount hotel
The Hotel Paramount in New York City is a hotel located at 235 West 46th Street, to the west of Broadway. Designed by Thomas W. Lamb, construction was completed in 1928. In 1988, the hotel was closed for an 18-month remodelling project. In 1990, the hotel, under the ownership of Ian Schrager and...
Group (now Barcelo UK) in 2004 and received a £12 million upgrade to become a five-star hotel. A short while after purchase by Paramount the hotel was transferred to the then sister company of Paramount and its current owners Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
based QHotels (formerly Quintessential Hotels). The hotel offers 312 en-suite bedrooms with 14 suites. There are two restaurants including the double AA Rosette winning French Restaurant. There is also a health club with swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
, gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
and squash court.
Famous guests
The Midland is perhaps most famous for being the meeting place of Charles Stewart Rolls and Frederick Henry Royce leading to the formation of Rolls-Royce LimitedRolls-Royce Limited
Rolls-Royce Limited was a renowned British car and, from 1914 on, aero-engine manufacturing company founded by Charles Stewart Rolls and Henry Royce on 15 March 1906 as the result of a partnership formed in 1904....
in 1906. More recent celebrity stays include Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
, the Spice Girls, the Beckhams
George Best
George Best was a professional footballer from Northern Ireland, who played for Manchester United and the Northern Ireland national team. He was a winger whose game combined pace, acceleration, balance, two-footedness, goalscoring and the ability to beat defenders...
, Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
, Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti
right|thumb|Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in [[Strelna]], 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of [[St...
, Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
, Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...
, Prince Edward
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex KG GCVO is the third son and fourth child of Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh...
, former British Prime Ministers
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
and Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
as well as the current Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
. The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
were famously refused access to the French Restaurant for being "inappropriately dressed".
Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother dined in what was the Trafford Restaurant in November 1959 after attending a Royal Variety Performance
Royal Variety Performance
The Royal Variety Performance is a gala evening held annually in the United Kingdom, which is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family, usually the reigning monarch. In more recent years Queen Elizabeth II and The Prince of Wales have alternately attended the performance...
at the Palace Theatre
Palace Theatre, Manchester
The Palace Theatre, Manchester, is one of the main theatres in Manchester, England. It is situated on Oxford Street, on the north-east corner of the intersection with Whitworth Street. The Palace and its 'sister' theatre the Manchester Opera House on Quay Street are operated by the same parent...
. It was the first time a crowned head had dined in a public restaurant.