Another chance spot I found perusing maps, conveniently found a day before being in the area so that was very handy.
The Woodside Hotel is a Victorian building of historical significance in Kenilworth, Warwickshire. It was built around 1857 for William Hitchcock, a wealthy landowner from Leamington Spa and was originally called Glass House. Between 1868 and 1873 Albert Jepson, the father of author Edgar Jepson was a tenant at the house, William Hitchcock advertised the property for sale in 1872 after his death in 1873 it was bought by William Sands Cox who renamed it Woodside. Cox was a notably famous surgeon from Birmingham, who founded a prominent medical school in the city and then later established an entire hospital, and he lived there with his wife Isabella until his death in 1875. After his death he left the property to Isabella, who continued to live there until she died a decade later in 1885 - that same year the heir to the property, her nephew, advertised it for sale.
In February 1886 the house was bought by James Randles, a merchant from South Africa who returned to England following 25 years abroad. In 1888, him and his wife, Mary Heighway returned to South Africa where he died in 1901. The property was then bought by the Reverend Henry Cunliffe, and he and Lady Alexandrina Victoria Murray moved to Woodside shortly after they were married. Lady Alexandrina Victoria Murray was a friend of the Royal Family and was one of the bridesmaids of Princess Helena, the daughter of Queen Victoria, for her marriage in 1866. In 1889 Henry sold the house to Albert Cay, who lived in the property with his wife Annie Jaffray until his death in 1921, Annie lived in the house for another 20 years until she died in 1941 aged 89.
After Annie died, the house was purchased by Courtalds, a Coventry-based textile manufacturer, for use as offices during the war years, and in 1952 became their training centre. In 1997 Courtalds sold the property to the Chudley family who reopened it as a 74 bedroom hotel in 1998, with it being operated by the Sundial Group at the time of it's closure during the first COVID lockdown in March 2020. It was put up for sale that year but failed to attract any interest, and the company went into administration in 2021.
It passed through a couple of developers hands and was sold to Vistry Group in September this year, the property surprisingly isn't listed so it may well face demolition at some point soon as new houses are already springing up across the front gardens and green space along the front of the site and up the side of the building, with the hotel grounds being used for storage of building materials and bricks and all sorts.
After initially choosing to go the long, wrong way round to try and access the site, after about half an hour we stumbled beyond the fenceline and went for a wander. Much to our collective surprise entry was very simple, and so we set about having a nose around the place. Honestly, other than the entrance hallway, stained glass window on the staircase and the swimming pool in the separate accomodation block, there isn't a whole lot to see. Like so many hotels it is now bland and sanitised, and with a lot of the bedrooms and conference rooms frustratingly hidden behind still locked key card doors there wasn't as much to see as we'd have hoped.
Still, a decent place for a chance find the day before a trip, so definitely worth the effort.
Thanks for looking
The Woodside Hotel is a Victorian building of historical significance in Kenilworth, Warwickshire. It was built around 1857 for William Hitchcock, a wealthy landowner from Leamington Spa and was originally called Glass House. Between 1868 and 1873 Albert Jepson, the father of author Edgar Jepson was a tenant at the house, William Hitchcock advertised the property for sale in 1872 after his death in 1873 it was bought by William Sands Cox who renamed it Woodside. Cox was a notably famous surgeon from Birmingham, who founded a prominent medical school in the city and then later established an entire hospital, and he lived there with his wife Isabella until his death in 1875. After his death he left the property to Isabella, who continued to live there until she died a decade later in 1885 - that same year the heir to the property, her nephew, advertised it for sale.
In February 1886 the house was bought by James Randles, a merchant from South Africa who returned to England following 25 years abroad. In 1888, him and his wife, Mary Heighway returned to South Africa where he died in 1901. The property was then bought by the Reverend Henry Cunliffe, and he and Lady Alexandrina Victoria Murray moved to Woodside shortly after they were married. Lady Alexandrina Victoria Murray was a friend of the Royal Family and was one of the bridesmaids of Princess Helena, the daughter of Queen Victoria, for her marriage in 1866. In 1889 Henry sold the house to Albert Cay, who lived in the property with his wife Annie Jaffray until his death in 1921, Annie lived in the house for another 20 years until she died in 1941 aged 89.
After Annie died, the house was purchased by Courtalds, a Coventry-based textile manufacturer, for use as offices during the war years, and in 1952 became their training centre. In 1997 Courtalds sold the property to the Chudley family who reopened it as a 74 bedroom hotel in 1998, with it being operated by the Sundial Group at the time of it's closure during the first COVID lockdown in March 2020. It was put up for sale that year but failed to attract any interest, and the company went into administration in 2021.
It passed through a couple of developers hands and was sold to Vistry Group in September this year, the property surprisingly isn't listed so it may well face demolition at some point soon as new houses are already springing up across the front gardens and green space along the front of the site and up the side of the building, with the hotel grounds being used for storage of building materials and bricks and all sorts.
After initially choosing to go the long, wrong way round to try and access the site, after about half an hour we stumbled beyond the fenceline and went for a wander. Much to our collective surprise entry was very simple, and so we set about having a nose around the place. Honestly, other than the entrance hallway, stained glass window on the staircase and the swimming pool in the separate accomodation block, there isn't a whole lot to see. Like so many hotels it is now bland and sanitised, and with a lot of the bedrooms and conference rooms frustratingly hidden behind still locked key card doors there wasn't as much to see as we'd have hoped.
Still, a decent place for a chance find the day before a trip, so definitely worth the effort.
Thanks for looking
. I don't mind hotels tbf
