Hello ,
My name is Natalieand i'm a student at Chester University , as part of a work placement three collegues and I are researching for an exhibition to be held in the university of Tom Woods photographs . There are three areas to the exhibition , Rainhill hospital , Cammell Laird Shipyard and ChelseaReach nightcub .
I am looking for any information or material on the building before becoming the club , and after . And if anybody has stories about the club , or any ephemera then please get in contact .
[email protected]Thank you very much for your time .
Looking forward to hearing from you .
Natalie ,
The Ferry Hotel, at the base of Victoria Road, opened in c1850 and was in a favourable position to attract customers as it was the first building passengers would come across after alighting from their ferry-boat.
After Isabella Graves death her 26 year old great niece Ann Graves took over the tenancy of the Ferry Hotel. In 1857 the hotel was taken over by the notable architect Stephen Eyre who designed St. Albans Church with J.A Hanson in 1852-1853. Eyre remained at the hotel for 10 years and was succeeded by Miss Ann Tennant, a 30 year old, who changed the name of the hotel for a short period to 'Royal Hotel'. In 1869 Ann left to take up duties at the Magazine Hotel, Magazine Brow and was replaced by the one time proprietor of the Queen's Hotel, Conway Street, Birkenhead, George Mason, who changed the title of the hotel to 'Royal Ferry Hotel'. George was a wealthy shipowner and was elected a member of the Wallasey Local Board in 1870. After George retired in 1879 his son, Edward, became the proprietor until 1889 when he left to take up the tenancy of the Queen's Hotel in Conway Street and in 1892 was elected as a member of Birkenhead Borough Council, becoming Mayor of Birkenhead in 1897-1898. It is worth noting that Mason Street, off Victoria Road, and formally known as Black Diamond Street, takes its name from the family. Today the hotel is now residential flats but had recently been a nightclub called Chelsea Reach and Club Royale.