IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): GB 0074 LMA/4549
Held at: London Metropolitan Archives
Title: REGENT PALACE HOTEL
Date(s): 1911-2006
Level of description: Collection
Extent: 0.52 linear metres
Name of creator(s): Regent Palace Hotel, London | 1915-2006
CONTEXT
Administrative/Biographical history:
Designed by architects Henry Tanner, F.J. Wills and W.J. Ancell, the Regent Palace Hotel was built in 1914 on Glasshouse Street, Piccadilly Circus, and at the time of its opening on 16 May 1915 was the largest hotel in Europe with 1028 bedrooms. Initially the responsibility of Morris Salmon, the hotel later came under the remit of Douglas Gluckstein and Rex Joseph, with Mr Frederichs and Mr Delaloye forming part of the management team.
At its height, the hotel employed more than 1000 staff, some of which were accommodated in the adjacent Annexe and its 160 bedrooms. This building also contained a complete laundry service for all of the Strand group hotels in London, and was linked to the main building by a bridge and underground passage constructed in the 1930s. The Regent Palace Hotel additionally supplied meat to all the Strand hotels and Cornerhouses in the form of pre-cut steaks which were butchered onsite in specially designed kitchens in the basement of the hotel.
During the First World War, the hotel's accommodation was requisitioned by the government, and later in the Second World War, two separate bombs caused minor damage to the building, including the staff Annexe.
The hotel was owned and operated by Strand Hotels Limited, a subsidiary of J. Lyons and Company Limited, until 1977 when the Stand Hotels group was acquired by Trusthouse Forte. It was subsequently run by Grenada, Compass and Travel Lodge, and finally closed in December 2006.
CONTENT
Scope and content/abstract:
Records of the Regent Palace Hotel, London, including:
- Operational records, including Works Manager and Electricians Supervisor files, memorandum books, customer bills and feedback reports, and restaurant menus.
- Staff handbooks, conditions of employment, and staff attendance statistics.
- Marketing material, including photographs of the building, guests, staff, and the opening of the Stetson Saloon, newspaper cuttings and advertisements.
- Plans of the Island Site and Regent Palace Hotel and Annexe, together with copy leases.
- Historical material compiled by Mr Leigh Smith, Managing Director, including copies of book and journal extracts relating to the hotel, newspaper articles, and original menus from related restaurants.
ACCESS AND USE
Language/scripts of material: English
System of arrangement:
These records are arranged as follows:
LMA/4549/01 OPERATIONS;
LMA/4549/02 STAFF;
LMA/4549/03 MARKETING AND ADVERTISING;
LMA/4549/04 PREMISES;
LMA/4549/05 HISTORY.
Conditions governing access:
These records are available for public inspection, although records containing personal information are subject to access restrictions under the UK Data Protection Act, 1998.
Conditions governing reproduction:
Copyright to this collection rests with the City of London.
Finding aids:
Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm
ARCHIVAL INFORMATION
Archival history:
Immediate source of acquisition:
Records donated to the Archive in 2007.
ALLIED MATERIALS
Related material:
See J Lyons and Company Limited collections (ACC/3527, ACC/3811,LMA/4004, LMA/4018, LMA/4183, LMA/4258, LMA/4271, LMA/4306).
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Date(s) of descriptions: August to October 2010.