Hoping for better times ahead - past days have not all been happy for historic Cleethorpes hotel

 

Major project - the former hotel, seen from the side, is much larger than it would seem from the front

WORK is now well on the way to breathe new life into one of Cleethorpes' most prominent buildings.

Most recently trading under the name of The Foundry and, before that, O'Neill's, the property on Grant Street is still referred to by some older residents as The Victoria Hotel.

Its new owners are the fast-growing pubs group Amber Taverns which is based in Blackpool but has most of its hostelries in towns and villages just north of Manchester.

Currently, the company has few properties in the East of England, the nearest to the one in Cleethorpes being The Lumley Hotel which is opposite Skegness railway station.

In times gone by, The Victoria used to provide accommodation for away teams prior to matches with Grimsby Town FC down the road at Blundell Park.

However, despite the size of the property, Amber Taverns have given no indication that, once reopened, the business will again provide overnight accommodation for paying guests.

It is not known if there is a resident ghost, but, like most old buildings (and some much younger), this one has its secrets - some of them tragic.

Perhaps the saddest is that of one of its cooks, Louisa Watson (63), who, in September 1926, fell  30ft from a top storey window and died immediately from head injuries sustained when she landed on the courtyard's stone flagging.

She had lived at the hotel but was not the occupant of the room from which she fell. 

In another tragic episode in October, 1915, the  proprietor of The Victoria, William Hill, was driver of a car which was involved in one of the first fatal road accidents to  occur in the area.

After having parked his horse and cart  to make a delivery to a house in Irby. a delivery man, Thomas Osbourne, died after being struck by Mr Hill’s car.

Although his state of shock must have been intense, Mr Hill lifted Mr Osbourne (74) into the back of his car and drove him to Grimsby Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

On another occasion, the previous year, two Leicester women, Ada Smith and Lily Jones  claimed to have been drugged after they were found unconscious outside the premises.

In August, 1922, a Sidney Thompson from Newcastle-upon-Tyne was bound over to keep the peace by Grimsby magistrates after he was discovered under the bed of a chambermaid.

The Bench apparently accepted his explanation that, while in a drunken state, he had missed his last train back to Tyneside.

He said he had wandered up from Cleethorpes railway station, entered the open door of a first-floor bedroom and fell asleep under the bed.

What was the evidence of the chambermaid? 

Unfortunately, that has not been recorded, so we will just have to take her visitant’s word for it.                                                             

A huge investment, but no word yet on when the repaired building is due to re-open