Genealogy Chat

Can anyone tell me what the Grosvenor Hotel in Manchester in 1900 would now be called? My grandfather worked there probably until 1906 when he moved to London to work at the Savoy. He came to this country from Austria. As far as I can ascertain, he defected from the Austrian Army. I need to try to find some record of his arrival in this country. My grandmother came from Whitby, so presumably he passed through there en-route to Manchester. They married in March 1900. Their first child was born in May! His address at that time being the "Grosvenor Hotel". Her address, Whitby. I am hoping that the Hotel may have retained some records. Have tried a Google search but can't work out which hotel it was - ? Thistle. Maybe someone au-fait with Manchester history could help! Thanks, Jill

I found this on a website following a google search for Grosvenor Hotel 1901. It says The railway arrived in Chester in 1840 with lines to Crewe and Birkenhead. By 1850 Chester was connected to Holyhead, Shrewsbury, London and Manchester. The city soon became a popular tourist centre for shopping and leisure. New hotels were built throughout the city to cater for the visitors. The internationally famous Grosvenor Hotel opened on Eastgate Street in 1866. With such good links to Manchester do you think this could be what you are looking for? There is still a five star hotel at this address called the THE CHESTER GROSVENOR AND GROSVENOR SPA Address is: The Chester Grosvenor Eastgate Chester CH1 1LT England Tel: +44 1244 324024 Hope this helps Alison

Hi Alison, Thanks for looking. Yes, I found that one. The Grosvenor in Chester is still there. Not sure who owns it now - it was THF. It really is the hotel in Manchester I need info about. I can't find anything on the web about it. Some hotels - like the Savoy in London - give you a potted history of the place. I can't even discover which Manchester Hotel used to be the Grosvenor! Cheers, Jill

Jill, Putting Grosvenor and Manchester in an address search gives "Deansgate Grosvenor Hotel Company". The Deansgate area looks to have been redeveloped a lot so I'm not sure you'll find the original building. Crista

Crista, Thank you so much! Never thought of doing that. I shall now see if I can fathom out where the hotel used to stand and see whether the company still exists in the UK. You never know, there may be some old staff records somewhere. I hope I have more success with them than I have done with the Savoy group. I have emailed them twice now for information and they haven't bothered to reply. I do appreciate your help. Kind Regards, Jill Oswestry, Shropshire

Jill I am sorry to say that the Grovesnor hotel is now demolished. It used to be at the end of Deansgate,on the corner of Victoria Bridge Street, very near the Cathredral and Exchange Station,which is no longer in use. Brenda

Jill, Maybe you can try contacting the Chester Grosvenor Hotel Company. They might know something. Crista

Brenda, Thanks for the info. Saves a trip to Manchester to have a look! Crista, Have emailed them as you suggested. I doubt whether it is the same hotel group now. I've asked them if they might know whether any records have survived. Thank you both for your help. Jill

Hi Jill, My name is Grace Roberts. I have just joined GC and have been surfing. I live in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the moment but we have a family home in Chester, UK. The Chester Grosvenor Hotel is in fact owned by the Duke of Westminster, I don't know if this is of any help to you. My husband's grandfather was responsible for the construction of a lot of the old red brick buildings in Manchester including The Midland Hotel, perhaps this used to be The Grosvenor Hotel, Manchester, The Library opposite and many other buildings. Good Luck with your search.

Hi Grace, Thank you for that and welcome to the site. I'm sure you will find it interesting and helpful. I wish that some of my rellies had done something significant as yours obviously did! I think that the Midland Hotel was a different building. I have contacted Manchester Library to see whether they have any photos of the Grosvenor in their archives. Kind Regards, Jill

Thanks everyone. I emailed Manchester Library. This morning I received, in the post, a page of thumbnails of the Grosvenor and also of the street my grandparents lived in 1900. Have ordered 4 photos all for the princely sum of £3.60 including postage! What a brilliant service. Jill