-Central Hotel-
The History of the
Central Plaza Hotel The Central Plaza Hotel located on Victoria Viaduct in Carlisle was Built in 1880 and also had later additions added in 1882, in its day it was a thriving and popular hotel, built original for the same purpose as the other hotels in Carlisle such as the Crown and Mitre and the Hallmark Hotel, in the days where trains went along at a much slower than they do today journeys would take considerably longer and an overnight stay would usually be needed. Carlisle would have been a main stop and where better to stay than one of its hotels. Today our hotels are used less for people staying in the city over night I suppose they have premier inns now but for social functions such as weddings and parties, the plaza was no exception to this when it was open I have heard many people say that’s where they had their wedding reception or just like to go for tea with their friends, even though what you see now if just a hollow shell of what it was the plaza was once a place that everyone could appreciate. The Hotel is 6 story’s high and is mostly built of red sand stone witch form its rounded moulded arch with keystone feature, a glass canopy witch was added in 1990 and had flanking bowed bay windows carried down to level beneath to let light flood into it 84 bedrooms.
Photograph found in Carlsile Libary The building has past hands since it stopped trading in 2004 it was sold by its original owner to a Manchester trade which went into liquidation not long after, It was then passed over to the Duchy of Lancaster, the organisation managing property for the Queen. Since then the once proud building has been left to rot away, The Carlisle City council have spent ÂŁ77.000 on keeping the building from decaying any further such as putting up scaffolding and boarding up the windows not that they have keep people out, there has been damage, vandalism and a few attempts to set fires inside the building throughout the years.
Photograph from 28weeks later blog
The Stone work The stone work of the Central Plaza hotel dates back to the construction of the hotel in 1880 the lower levels of the hotel are made of red sandstone while the upper floors are constructed from quarry-faced calciferous sandstone from Lazonby. At this present moment in time it is difficult to admire the amazing craftsmanship that has be bestowed upon this majestic building since it has been covered in floors of scaffolding and creeping plants, Even then if the scaffolding where to be removed and the plants cut back unfortunately you would still only see what is left of the original work because the stone has been left alone with no maintenance for many years now the weather and time have reclaimed many of the striking features. One of the most obvious example of this is the stone face above the side door on the ground floor clear to see from the pavement, less than half of this once prominent face remains due to the left side being exposed to the rainy and windy weather that frequents Carlisle. I am sorry to see that so much of this architectural beauty has been lost due to neglect, I really believe that this amazing architecture should be preserved for many years to come as a city constantly modernising we need to preserve our past and its historically importance.
Cherished Past
These are some examples of what we think the advertisments for the Central Hotel would of looked like when it first opened in 1880.
Inside Unfortunately we were no able to gain access to the inside of the building to take pictures and experience the place for ourselves but There are others that have, Back on the 21/02/2007 three urban explores entered the hotel to see its spooky and bear interior there have documented this with these haunting photographs from there blogs 28 days later (see below). On their blog they have described their experience in the hotel, this is what they said “Overall it’s in good condition, with some really nice rooms, Electricity is still on, and produced some great lighting (especially the lower room to the front with spot lights) As I was exploring and wandering by myself, I refound the meaning of UE; it was quite a empty room, and at the end there was a window, the net curtains were being blown out. I stopped and admired its beauty for a while.�
They describe the hotel as in good condition the electricity still works and the water still runs, unfortunately as you will see if you turn the page many years have passed since these urban explores entered the abandoned hotel and the years have not been so kind to Carlisle abandoned Plaza. Photographs Taken from Urban Explores
9 Years later Recently BBC Cumbria have entered the Hotel in September this year what they have found is a very different sight from the photographs taken by the 28 day later group 9 years previously. A lot has happened to this building since then the scaffolding and boarded have gone up denning and light entry to the darks rooms, there has been vandalism inside and out and worse the fires that people have deliberately set have damaged this hotels once strikingly beautiful features maybe beyond repair, I believe there is only three photographs because the building is now to dangerous to fully explore. A building that
once stood proud and tall in our city has be neglected and beaten to the point of despair, Myself and many others I have spoken to worry that if nothing is done to reverse this terrible damage that it will soon be too late .
Photographs from BBC Cumbria’s Old Carlisle community Page.
The Victorian The Victorian Society has chosen Carlisle`s Central Plaza Hotel to be on its top Ten Most endangered Victorian and Edwardian buildings list in England and wales they hope that for these building this list will bring new exposer and a new interest in saving them. The director of the Victorian Society, Christopher Costelloe, said: ‘We’re grateful to everyone who nominated the Central Plaza Hotel, Carlisle. Like all the buildings included in this year’s Top Ten, it is a listed building meaning that the Government has recognised its national importance. The Council are to be commended for spending money on a building which the Crown Estate Solicitor will not market. I urge the public to share the Top Ten, and Griff’s message, to help raise awareness of the Central Plaza Hotel and help it to find the investment it so desperately needs.’(Found on Victoriansocity.org). I hope the interest the Victorian Society has shown in our crumbling hotel will urge others to get involved in saving this piece of Carlisle’s History.
Photograph taken by the Victorian Society
Society Actor, comedian, writer and Presenter Griff Rhys Jones is heading the project to raise money for these abound rotting buildings he took to social media and said “Hello my Name Is Griff Rhys Jones and I am president of the Victorian Society, who have just recently published there list of the most endangered Victorian and Edwardian building endangered in Britain today, it’s a very important list and it needs published you can seek it out by searching for the Victorian society on the web and if you do would you mind publishing it, share it around because they are building that need help, and we need you to help them”. You can watch the video on YouTube by searching Griff Rhys Jones Victorian Society’s Top Ten Endangered Buildings 2015.
The other 10 that need your help • London’s Ladywell Baths • Kinmel Hall in Conwy • Wolverhampton’s St Luke’s Church • Ipswich’s Tolly Cobbold brewery • Overstone Hall, Northampton • Sheerness Boat Store, Kent, • Brighton’s Madeira Terrace • Central Plaza Hotel, Carlisle. • Birnbeck Pier, Weston-super• Hunslet and Victoria Mills, Leeds (Hunslet Mill
If you would like to help the Victorian Society save these magnificent architecture you can go to their website at www.victoriansociety.org.uk and donate there or you can test VICT00 followed by either £1, £2, £3, £4,£5 or £10 to 70070, 100% of your donation will go to the society to help them continue their work campaigning to save these wonderful building.
Photograph found in Carliasle Public Libary
Not So Empty
Viewing the Central plaza hotel from the street outside of its high walls you could be fooled into thinking that it stands empty and has for many years since the hotel closed in 2004, but on closer inspection of the side walls you will discover a few windows where the boards have been pulled away and the glass broken trough.
At first I wondered if this was due to the homeless looking for a roof to sleep under, but sadly Andrew Gale the owner of the Carlisle bed centre located on the left side of the hotel has reported youths breaking in, climbing on scaffolding, damaging and graffetying the property and in some instances people have even tried to start fires inside the building, Gale is quoted on the News & Stars website saying “the derelict building represented a huge liability for the city, and posed a constant threat, A few weeks ago there were some youths trying to start a fire in there, It’s only a matter of time before a youth falls off the scaffolding and gets killed. It’s been an ongoing problem” It is terrible to think these acts of vandalism will only further the poor condition of this once loved hotel or end up in someone getting hurt.
LOCAL “We used to Play music there while people had there Christmas dinner they also got one ourselves, it was so cosy after I retired we continued to go to the hotel for coffee on Monday morning, we sat in the lounge looking over the viaduct it was so comfortable they had big chairs and the staff where so lovely.” - Marjorie Row “I like its classic architecture compared with our modern buildings everywhere, it would be a shame to lose something so beautiful.” - Christian Jones
“Its is a shame to see such glorious building being destroyed, Its terrible how much damage has been done to it through vandalism and vandals setting fires.” - Adam Seph
“It could be a lovely hotel or short stay flats or flats people could buy or rent, it has so much potential to be fulfilled.” - Karen Smith
“It’s a disgrace to let this iconic building fall into such disrepair.” - Colin Jose
“Been in every single room in this place when I worked
“It looks rather grand from the front, but I’d love to see
there 30 odd years ago, such a shame to see it like this.”
the hotel up and running again.”
- Adrian McGonigle
- Ben Wolstencroft
OPINIONS
These are the voices of Carlisle’s residents who had something to say about the Hotel. What are your thoughts on the matter?
This whole Magazine has been an attempt at trying to get people interested in saving the Central Plaza hotel on Victoria Viaduct in Carlisle, I hope as you have read through these articles and looked at the photographs you will have seen just why we need to save this once majestic building, I hope you will agree with those who think it is worth saving and not turning it into site for a car park we have plenty of car parks we don’t need another one, but what we do need is to keep our history keep the classic architecture of the past, in a city that is for ever modernising with boring square and flat looking building we need to keep this part of our past we need to restore and care for it for many years to come I hope you now also believe that the Plaza Hotel is worth saving and will help the Victorian Society and everyone else who is fighting to save one of our city’s most outstandingly beautiful building, the Central Plaza Hotel.
The Story Continues