Recclesia was commissioned to complete heritage consultancy work for Chester Grosvenor Hotel as part of their plans to invest in some exciting changes to their Grade II listed building on Eastgate Street in Chester. The work was led by Recclesia’s Heritage Consultant Lee Bilson who has consulted on some of the UK’s most outstanding heritage projects.
The hotel site has had an interesting history. The original hotel on the site was noted in 1751 as being ancient, and it was thought to have been in use during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603). However, in 1784 the inn was razed and The Royal Hotel was built in its place. It was used as the meeting place of the Independent Party who opposed the Grosvenor family, and before long the hotel was purchased by the Grosvenors and renamed, whence upon one can only imagine that the opposition meetings were quickly cancelled!
The building currently on the site was completed in 1866 and today is Chester’s most outstanding hotel. The planned changes to the building required an assessment to be made of the significance of various parts of the building in order to establish how best to make the changes without damaging the original fabric or overall historic integrity of the building. To this end, Recclesia will complete survey work and archival research, then produce a report in order to inform the architects and designers how best to work with the building.
You can find out more about the Chester Grosvenor Hotel here.
Main Photograph: Francis Bedford c.1884