The Hull Royal Station Hotel

Built in 1848, alongside a new railway station for the city, the Station Hotel in Hull didn't get its "Royal" title until 1854, when Queen Victoria and her family stayed while traveling from Scotland back down to Windsor. Hull was a convenient stopover as it allowed the royal family to arrive by train and leave by boat to complete their journey via the Humber and Thames Estuaries.

Queen Victoria

The visit was reported in the minutest detail in the newspapers, with the Huddersfield Chronicle 14^th October 1854 relaying that the royal party secured 48 rooms for the visit.  The Hull Packet 20^th October 1854 even carried a plan of the rooms so the public could see exactly how the queen had organized everyone.  The principal rooms were described in detail.  There is a story that the Queen contracted measles during her visit to Hull and to help dissipate the light coming into her windows, the glass was changed to be pink.  There are still two pink windows at the hotel as well as a blue plaque which reads: “Above this spot, 1854 By personal request Queen Victoria looked out on the city through rose-tinted glass.” None of the newspapers mention this adaptation and so I cannot verify whether it is true or not.  If you were invited to the grand ball held prior to the royal arrival, you would have been able to take part in a tour of the rooms as part of the evening. The dinners and parties were also reported on minute by minute.  Shortly after the Queen and her party had left the hotel, many of the fittings from the building were sold, including the corridor carpets walked on by the Queen, the stair carpet, the carpets from the Queen’s bedroom as well as rugs, table covers, screens, and curtains.  Most strange is the sale of wallpaper from these rooms, whether it is the wallpaper, or the same pattern it isn’t clear. 

The Hotel in around 1900

It is from this time on that the hotel could now be known as the Royal Station Hotel. The visit to Hull by the queen was not without controversy mainly due to its expense.  It has been calculated that the visit cost the city £4032 or £450,000 in today’s money. This opposition was countered by emphasising the benefits of the visit including giving an impulse to trade and showing a royal interest in the city and therefore promoting it. The royal visit was very much last minute with the mayor only receiving the notice on the previous Thursday and so there was little time to prepare. Although plans were in place from a cancelled visit in the previous year and so this would help. The mayor, Henry Cooper received a knighthood for his troubles. A tour of Hull by the Queen allowed many to see her as she travelled through the streets.  The route was published beforehand and so the route was lined with people waving flags and banners. The royal party left Hull on the royal yacht Fairy.

The Royal Yacht Fairy