Burford Bridge Hotel

Burford Bridge Hotel is a historic hotel in the village of Mickleham, Surrey, England. It is to the south of Leatherhead and north of Dorking at the foot of Box Hill on the River Mole.

Burford Bridge Hotel
Old London Road frontage
Former namesFox and Hounds (1254-1882)
Hare and Hounds (1882-1905)
General information
Locationfoot of Box Hill
near Dorking, Surrey
AddressOld London Road, Mickleham
Town or cityDorking
CountryEngland
Coordinates51.2542°N 0.3219°W / 51.2542; -0.3219
Current tenantsMercure Hotels, Accor
Opened1254
Renovated2014
OwnerMoorfield Group (since 2007)
Renovating team
Other designersTrevillion Interiors
Other information
Number of rooms57
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameBurford Bridge Hotel
Designated11 June 1973
Reference no.1028876

The hotel has been owned by Moorfield Group (a UK private equity firm) since 2007 and is operated by Accor Hotels under their mid-market Mercure brand.[1]

History

The Hotel was founded in 1254 as the 'Fox and Hounds', and parts of the present buildings date back to the 16th century. The land on which the hotel stands was a detached part of the medieval Manor of Thorncroft (in Leatherhead)[2] and was held in the mid-thirteenth century by Walter de Merton, the founder of Merton College, Oxford University.[3]

The main building, adjoining Old London Road, dates from the early nineteenth century.[4] In 1882 the hotel became the 'Hare & Hounds', and was commonly known as the Burford Bridge. In 1905, Surrey Public Trust purchased it from Sir Trevor Lawrence, and it changed permanently to the Burford Bridge Hotel,[5] later merging with Trusthouses in 1948.

A 16th century mediaeval tithe barn from the nearby village of Abinger Hammer was re-erected adjoining the hotel in 1934 and now forms the core of the banqueting suite.[4] The barn is alleged to include beams from ships of the Spanish Armada.[4][1] An outdoor swimming pool was added in the same decade and the changing rooms have been restored to their original 1930s appearance.[1] The Garden Bedrooms were built in 1973 and adjoin the main hotel.

The hotel was flooded on 24 December 2013 when the River Mole burst its banks after heavy rainfall. Nine members of staff and 27 guests were evacuated by boat.[1] The hotel was reopened on 1 September 2014 following renovation.[6]

Notable Guests

After leaving London, John Keats took a room overlooking the gardens, and completed his epic poem Endymion there in 1819.[4] Other prominent visitors included Queen Victoria, Jane Austen, Wordsworth, Sheridan and Robert Louis Stevenson. It was here too that Lord Nelson spent secret hours with his love Emma Hamilton, before going to vanquish Napoleon's fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar.[4]

The American businessman, Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, visited the hotel frequently in the 1890s, stopping to take lunch and to collect telegrams.[7][8] He and a number of other millionaires, including James Hazen Hyde, practised the old English coaching techniques of the early 19th century for sport. Vanderbilt would frequently drive the coach, perfectly apparelled as a coachman or groom. His party would take a one-day, two-day, or longer trip along chosen routes through several counties, going to prearranged inns and hotels along the routes,[9] of which the Burford Bridge was one.[7]

References
  1. Harmer, Janet (26 October 2014). "Mercure Box Hill Burford Bridge". The Caterer. 204 (4844): 42–44.
  2. Harvey, John (1962). "The Court Rolls of Leatherhead: The earliest surviving Court Roll of the Manor of Pachenesham". Proceedings of the Leatherhead and District Local History Society. 2 (6): 170–173.
  3. Spong, June M (1999). Around Dorking and Box Hill. Stroud: Tempus. p. 98. ISBN 9780752411521.
  4. Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1028876)". National Heritage List for England.
  5. Nathaniel Newnham-Davis's Gourmet's Guide to London (1914)
  6. "Burford Bridge Hotel reopens after Surrey floods". BBC News. London, UK. 1 September 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  7. Shepperd, Ronald (1982). The Manor of Wistomble in the Parish of Mickleham. Westhumble Association. p. 70. ASIN B000X8PZMC.
  8. Shepperd, Ronald (1991). Micklam the story of a parish. Mickleham Publications. p. 156. ISBN 0-9518305-0-3.
  9. Times, Special Cable To The New York (11 June 1909). "MRS. ANTONIO RUIZ A SUICIDE IN LONDON; Was Mentioned in Connection with the Divorce Case of Alfred G. Vanderbilt. News of Death Suppressed; Had Been Rumored Here, but Not Confirmed – Inquest Held Three Weeks Ago – Divorced Last Summer". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
Burford Bridge Hotel, photographed in around 1917
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