Victoria Hotel Cleethorpes ~ Some History
The Victoria Hotel Cleethorpes.
It was a simple sign above a garage door that drew me to this building . . .
I saw the carved stone lettering shown in the picture below and was immediately filled with evocative thoughts of a time, in more ways than one, long gone.
“Victoria Hotel Garage” how fabulous is that - a hotel with it’s own garage for the odd customer fortunate enough to own a motor car
Tell me it’s not just me - surely that has something about it ?
Early Motoring garage ?
Information looked thin on the ground when I started looking into the place after photographing it one gloriously sunny October Sunday.
Primarily, I wanted to at least get some date ranges and some in-depth digging uncovered a few nice snippets.
It looks as though the garage may be circa 1924 as Hewitt Bros (brewery) applied for planning permission to build a garage in December 1923.
I’m presuming there’s also a connection to the railway as it’s so close - indeed Station Road leads to it I believe.
I’ve found this reference which takes us even further back “additional rooms for James G. Linnell” that was in 1884 !
There are various other application in and around the date ranges mentioned above.
The Victoria Hotel
The picture above takes in some of what appears to be the older build, clearly much ‘enhanced’ over the years the front now looks particularly unprepossessing which is a shame for a building that holds such a central position.
In 1902 a man called A. Gibson has a letter recorded in the National Archives having been written to prominent British trade unionist Henry Broadhurst - Gibson’s address was given as, Victoria Hotel, Cleethorpes.
The name was still in use in 1948 but for how much longer ?
Rather frustratingly, I used to drink in there quite regularly as part of the Cleethorpes pub crawl (which is something of a Rites of Passage in these parts) and I cannot remember what it was called at the time ?
I’m appealing for information so if know anything at all about this pub’s history, now known as O’Neills Irish pub in Grant Street, then please do share it and preserve it for posterity.
Thanks in advance
All the best
Rod
See also our general overview of Cleethorpes History
Amiguru said,
October 15, 2010 @ 10:19 pm
Rod,
Several points.
Firstly, I think you’ll find that it is in Station Road rather than Grant Street which commences 93 yards further along. Nit-picking I know but we like to be accurate don’t we.
Secondly, I too, as you might have expected, used to frequent what we used to term ‘The Vic’. Really cosy inside in those days, (early sixties), and I particularly remember taking a girl called Lorraine in there. Fab times, Swinging Sixties of course!
Finally, Kelly’s 1885: “Victoria Hotel, James A. Linnell; Victoria Terrace, Cleethorpes, Great Grimsby.”
Now that last point presents a bit of a query. I don’t think that there is a Victoria Terrace anywhere in Cleethorpes now. I looked at the OS maps from 1889 to 1930 and there is no ‘Victoria Terrace’ marked; however, on the 1889-1890 maps there is no name at all on that road so perhaps it was provisional and just ‘known as’ due to the Victoria being there.
Regards,
Neville
Rod said,
October 16, 2010 @ 8:01 am
Neville,
Firstly, I think you’ll find that it is in Station Road rather than Grant Street
I went with Grant St because that’s what the business directory lists it as, their website also, I’m terrible with street names, never know what street is what which is why I looked it up.
The Vic’
Thanks you - at last I can stop thinking about it - that’s been bugging me on and off since I wrote it.
Intersting last point Neville - perhaps this will drag some more information out
Best
Rod
Amiguru said,
October 16, 2010 @ 10:36 am
Rod,
I didn’t want to be pedantic, its just that Grant Street didn’t ring true in my memory so I went and looked on Google maps. If you zoom in fairly close but don’t switch on ’satellite’ or ’street view’, you will see what I mean.
Regards,
Neville
History Hunter said,
October 16, 2010 @ 3:41 pm
Nev, did Lorraine ever finish her therapy or is it still ongoing?
Amiguru said,
October 16, 2010 @ 6:03 pm
HH,
Sadly, no. She was a real heart-stopper and I remember too, us going to that unmentionable place beyond the Humber/Abus/Aber for the day in the back of my cousin & wife’s car. The return trip under a blanket was absolute bliss!
Sigh! Sadly we were both very young and needed to play the field so we each moved on. I remember her surname too but wouldn’t divulge it here as it may embarrass. Hard to believe that she too will now be in her sixties
Regards,
Neville
John said,
October 29, 2010 @ 2:27 pm
Rod
I’ve just come across your excellent site while idly Googling ‘Wybers Wood’ (as I lived there in the late 1970s/early 1980s.
I left the area in the early 1980s (when that nice Mr Tebbitt said ‘get on yer bike’. I’m sure the pub was still called The Vic then.
My uncle (Jack Portlock) was the landlord from sometime in the 1960s until well into the 1970s, and my mum worked there as well. I worked there from time to time in the late 1960s in between spells of not doing very well at University. The pub used to sell vast quantities of mild, and not a great deal of bitter.
When my uncle retired, the pub was taken over by Reg and Jo Lovatt, who, coincidentally, became my wife’s sister’s in-laws not long afterwards.
The lounge (the back room facing the sea) was, for some reason always rougher that the public bar at the front. I remember some serious confrontations between the local fishermen and the Sheffield/Barnsley trippers!
I’ll try to delve into my memory for any other recolections of the pub.
Rod said,
October 29, 2010 @ 5:25 pm
John,
thanks fo rleaving a comment and welcome to the site.
That’s fabulous information fills in some nice later gaps - the runing battles with visitors from Yoprkshire were still rife as I remember in the 1980s !
Cheers
Rod
Charmaine said,
September 9, 2011 @ 8:20 pm
Victoria terrace was a very long row of grand victorian houses running along the station approach road, which would be on the same block but behind The Vic. running from top of grant street / Staion road to the promenade
Rod said,
September 10, 2011 @ 7:28 am
Charmaine,
thanks for taking the time to comment and welcome to the site, hope you’ll return
All the best
Rod
Carianne said,
February 22, 2012 @ 6:12 am
Hello
After joining a group on facebook about the history of cleethorpes it states that 3 of the houses of the original Victoria terraces still stands to this day-as o’neills itself. If you look at the back of the building you’ll see it
Rod said,
February 22, 2012 @ 6:20 am
Carianne,
thanks for the comment and welcome to the site - hope you’ll return
All the best
Rod