© www.dover-kent.co.uk 2022
Dover: Lock and Key of the Kingdom
Dover Stage Hotel
The Dover Stage Hotel was built on a site between Townwall
Street and Camden Cresent and had entrances on both roads.
The building overlooked the Granville Gardens with views of the
harbour.
The site was acquired after the Second World War by the
brewers Watney, Combe and Reid for £4,250. The site was
originally occupied by Shipdem's House, or the Round House,
which faced Granville Gardens and backed onto Townwall
Street. This regency Villa was built by John Shipdem in the
early 19th century. Shipdem was the Town Clerk and Registrar
of Dover Harbour from 1791. It was said that he built it round
so that the devil could not catch him in a corner! Later it
became the British Legion Club and then the private Round
House Club. The building was demolished after damage by
shelling during the Second World War.
Construction of the hotel started in January 1956 to a design by
Louis Erdi in the modern post war style, with six floors and
balanced on V-shaped struts. The hotel had 42 rooms on the
upper five floors, all facing the sea and with their own
balconies. The public rooms included a large ballroom, saloon
bar, lounge, foyer, tea room, and an American bar. The cost of
the building was in the region of £60,000 plus the cost of
furniture and equipment.
The Dover Stage was opened in May 1957 by the Mayor of
Dover, who rode to the ceremony in an old stagecoach. Its
public rooms became a popular location for dinners, dances and
wedding receptions. Such a location had been sorely missed in
the town after the destruction of the nearby Grand Hotel and
closure of the Lord Warden Hotel during the Second World War.
However, with only 42 rooms it was not a large hotel and its
small size was the cause of its demise in 1988. In June that
year permission was sought to demolish and erect flats in its
place. Demolition work commenced in October 1988. The flats
were never built and no more imaginative use than a car park
can be found for this central site on the Seafront.
Street and Camden Cresent and had entrances on both roads.
The building overlooked the Granville Gardens with views of the
harbour.
The site was acquired after the Second World War by the
brewers Watney, Combe and Reid for £4,250. The site was
originally occupied by Shipdem's House, or the Round House,
which faced Granville Gardens and backed onto Townwall
Street. This regency Villa was built by John Shipdem in the
early 19th century. Shipdem was the Town Clerk and Registrar
of Dover Harbour from 1791. It was said that he built it round
so that the devil could not catch him in a corner! Later it
became the British Legion Club and then the private Round
House Club. The building was demolished after damage by
shelling during the Second World War.
Construction of the hotel started in January 1956 to a design by
Louis Erdi in the modern post war style, with six floors and
balanced on V-shaped struts. The hotel had 42 rooms on the
upper five floors, all facing the sea and with their own
balconies. The public rooms included a large ballroom, saloon
bar, lounge, foyer, tea room, and an American bar. The cost of
the building was in the region of £60,000 plus the cost of
furniture and equipment.
The Dover Stage was opened in May 1957 by the Mayor of
Dover, who rode to the ceremony in an old stagecoach. Its
public rooms became a popular location for dinners, dances and
wedding receptions. Such a location had been sorely missed in
the town after the destruction of the nearby Grand Hotel and
closure of the Lord Warden Hotel during the Second World War.
However, with only 42 rooms it was not a large hotel and its
small size was the cause of its demise in 1988. In June that
year permission was sought to demolish and erect flats in its
place. Demolition work commenced in October 1988. The flats
were never built and no more imaginative use than a car park
can be found for this central site on the Seafront.
