Midland Hotel, Peter Street, Manchester

A confection in reddish brown terracotta, red brick and polished granite, this elaborately decorated pile was built to provide hotel accommodation for the adjacent Central Station to which it was linked by a covered, glazed canopy. The exterior reflects the quality of the facilities within, which originally included a Winter Garden, Palm Court, Theatre, Concert Hall, and Continental restaurants. The architecture oozes unrestrained opulence to the detriment of its overall composition. This is a building as an assemblage of details, eclectically raiding and adapting styles as necessary. These include the muses overlooking Lower Mosley Street, an octagonal corner tower with lions rampant holding shields, a side entrance of volutes and heavily embellished Ionic column supporting a vaulted roof, Neo-Dutch gables and Art Nouveau iron work.

NEW HOTEL NEAR THE CENTRAL STATION, MANCHESTER - Before the details of the new hotel proposed to be erected close to the Central Station by the Midland Railway Company are finally decided upon, Mr. C. Trubshaw, FRIBA, the Architect of the Company, and Mr, William Towle, the manager of the Company's hotels and restaurants, are to proceed to America in order to make a tour and inspection of the large hotels in the States. The new hotel, which it is proposed to make one of the largest and finest in the country, will occupy the site at present bounded by Lower Mosley-street, Windmill-street, Mount-street, and Peter-street. One of the chief features will be a large courtyard in the style of a winter garden. To take the place of the Gentlemen's Concert Hall, which is one of the buildings to be demolished to make way for the new hotel, a large concert room will be attached to the hotel, but the entrance will be a separate one. — Manchester City News. [Builder 9 January 1897 page 44]

MIDLAND RAILWAY HOTEL, MANCHESTER — The Improvement and Buildings Committee of the Manchester Corporation have passed the plans for the Midland Grand Hotel, to be erected by the Midland Railway on the site now being cleared close to the Central Station. The hotel will have frontages to Peter-street, Mount-street, Lower Mosley-street, and Windmill-street. Granite is to be the material used in the lower part of the superstructure, and the main building above this will be of terra cotta. A concert hall forms a part of the design. [Builder 3 September 1898 page 215]

THE NEW MIDLAND GRAND HOTEL IN MANCHESTER - An excellent idea of the general appearance of the palatial edifice which the Midland Railway Company is erecting in Manchester, and which will be known as the Hotel Midland Grand, is afforded by the above sketch. The site of the hotel is in close proximity to the Central Station, and is therefore in every way advantageous, Covering an area of about two acres, it is bounded on its four sides by Peter-street, Mount- Street, Windmill Street and Lower Mosley Street. The main front of the building, will be to Peter-street, and the two archways will admit to a central courtyard, possessing a similar exit at the opposite side. Red and grey Aberdeen granite, with a mixture of Shap granite, will be the stone used in the lower part of the structure, while in the upper portion brick and faience will be employed. The hotel Will provide magnificent accommodation, and the section to be first completed will include a fine concert hall. There will also be large public rooms, a winter garden, a rotunda, a roof garden, French restaurant, business and stock rooms, Royal and private suites, and 400 bedrooms. The total cost, including the furnishing, is estimated at a million sterling, and the work is expected to occupy altogether somewhere about three years. Mr Charles Trubshaw, of Derby, is the architect for the building, and is to be congratulated upon the excellence of his design. When completed, the Hotel Midland Grand will be one of the chief establishments the kind in the country, and will constitute a worthy addition to the many magnificent buildings of which Manchester can boast. The first contract, amounting to £80,000 has been let to Messrs William Brown and Son, Of Salford, who have been at work upon the section entrusted to them for some months. We understand that it is the intention of the company to erect the building in four sections, and that at the corner of Lower Mosley Street and Windmill street has been the first taken in hand. [Manchester Times 14 April 1899]

MANCHESTER - The new hotel, which the Midland Railway Company have built close to the Central Station, Manchester, was opened on Saturday.  The site covers two acres in Peter street, and five years have been occupied in clearing the ground and putting up the new building. The architect is Mr C Trubshaw, and the contractors were Messrs William Brown and Son, of Salford. The building is of six stories, and is 100 feet in height. For 26ft. from the pavement the front elevations are of red Aberdeen granite, with granite bands, and thence to the roof of terra-cotta blocks. The style is of a rather freely adapted Renaissance, The hotel overlooks Peter Street, Moseley Street, Mount Street, Windmill Street, and the open space of the Central Station yard, with which it is connected by a light iron built, glass roofed way. Blown vitrified terra-cotta is extensively used in the treatment of the building. The lofty walls of the inner building, rising on four sides high above the glass roof of the interior garden, are similarly treated with glazed white tiles. By a series of filter screens of linen and coke hung across the windows all impurities are removed from the incoming air. Within the entrance hall are a post and telegraph office, a telephone exchange, and a railway booking-office. There is a large concert hall, rich in variegated marbles; it will accommodate 850 persons. The panelling is of Cuban mahogany, and the style Louis XIV. There are several dining rooms, including a French restaurant, coffee and grill-rooms, and German restaurant. The grand dining room is panelled in mahogany, with,] embellishments in gold ; the ceiling is painted white, picked out with gold. A feature of the hotel is the arrangement of the rooms in suites, which are self-contained. There are 300 bedrooms. The suites grade into each other according to the periods - Elizabethan, Jacobean, Georgian, Louis XIV., and Adams all being utilised. The fireproof flooring has been carried out by Messrs  Mark Fawcett and Company, of London. [Building News 11 September 1903 page 338]

Sold to Holiday Inn and refurbished by architects, Essex, Goodman and Suggitt between 1984 and 1987.

Terra-cotta    Burmantofts Leeds
Art metal     G Wragge  Princess Art Metal Works Company - balcony guards etc

Reference    Builder 9 January 1897 page 44
Reference    Builder 3 September 1898 page 215
Reference    Manchester City News 27 August 1898 Page 5 (Notes)
Reference    Manchester Times 14 April 1899 with illustration
Reference    British Architect 11 September 1903 Page 197 with note to take
Reference    British Architect 25 September 1903 Page 236 - Princess Art Metal Works Co.
Reference    Railway Magazine December 1909 The Midland Railway New Manchester Hotel
Reference    Building News 11 September 1903 page 338