NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE


 

      Just 320 metres long, Northumberland Avenue was designed for luxury accommodation, including the seven-storey Grand Hotel, The Victoria and The Metropole which were all in one block. From the 1930s onwards, most hotels disappeared and were replaced by offices used by departments of the British Government, including the War Office and Air Ministry.

      Here is where I got a bit confused!

     The Metropole, which opened in 1885, is now The Corinthia Hotel (left).  But for many years, including both World Wars, it was commandeered by the government. In the early days, King Edward VII was a regular Metropole visitor, entertaining guests in its Royal Suite.

     The Hotel Victoria (centre) opened in 1887 and was one of London’s first buildings to have electricity. It closed in 1940 and was used by the War Office. It was subsequently renamed Northumberland House and currently provides rather lavish student accommodation for the London School of Economics. I’m guessing the current main entrance was once part of the Metropole next door.

    The Grand Hotel (right) was built between 1882 and 1887. It had 500 rooms and a large ballroom. Unlike other hotels on Northumberland Avenue the Grand has largely survived intact from its original design.



Comments

  1. I was thinking I was a bit of an authority on Northumberland Avenue. But it turns out I'm not even an authority in my own family as my cousin Stephen Goodenough used to work there:
    I've thoroughly enjoyed reading RR34 as it made me thoroughly nostalgic. Almost all my official visits to London from the 1980s for about 15 years (?) were to visit a small section that worked in Northumberland House in Northumberland Avenue. While it might have been a Grand Hotel in its heyday, like all the buildings taken over by the Government, it had become very shabby (partly because of triple length dirty net bomb curtains on the windows which were probably never cleaned and had their excess length rolled up in containers at the bottom of the windows collecting dust). The theory of the net curtains was that they would stop the flying glass from a bomb explosion outside and the triple length allowed them to expand to collect the flying debris.
    There was one "good" room kept for meetings with foreigners (mostly American) that was at least half-presentable. I remember the panic one day when one of those present decided that a passenger on a double decker bus passing outside could probably see through the windows and read the slides being projected. After that meetings were conducted with blackout blinds as well which with the poor lighting (I don't think Government could afford more than two 60W bulbs) meant we were in semi-darkness all the time (some would argue it matched the intallectual capability as well).
    Had a few visits to the Metropole as well during my time. That was probably in slightly better condition than Northumberland House. When Northumberland House was given up, the people I visited eventually moved into the MoD main building although for a while they were in an even shabbier office around the back of Oxford Street.
    - Stephen

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