Hopes for a successful restoration of Brighton's Royal Albion Hotel
Part of the Grade II listed building was gutted following its second major fire in 25 years
A conservation charity in Brighton and Hove is hopeful the Royal Albion Hotel can be restored ‘faithfully’ and ‘appropriately’ following its second major fire in 25 years.
The western wing of the Grade II listed building was gutted after the blaze broke out on Saturday evening, July 15.
Demolition of the damaged section is now underway, which Brighton & Hove City Council said could take 2-3 weeks to complete.
Council Leader, Bella Sankey, said: “We of course want to save as much of this iconic, heritage building as possible and have tasked our contractors to do this.
“As many original features as possible will be set aside for reuse or for moulds / copying.
“A 3D scan of the whole exterior of the building has been carried out, and we will be taking photos regularly to hopefully allow us to replicate the original features.
“We are in contact with Historic England and will continue to work closely with them.”
Speaking of the hotel’s history, Chair of the Regency Society in Brighton, David Fisher, said: “The original part is the eastern end, which is near the roundabout by the Palace Pier, was built in 1826 on the site of the House of Dr Richard Russell, who was the great pioneer of sea bathing and which is really where Brighton's history as a resort began.
“It was designed by one of the great local Brighton architects, Amon Henry Wiles.
“Next to it there was another hotel called Lion Mansion, at the western end of that block, and in between there were two lodging houses that eventually were merged together.”
The Regency Society, said it is saddened by the devastation caused by the fire but is optimistic the external appearance of the building can be restored.
Mr Fisher added: “I don't think it should be restored slavishly to the way it was.
“It should be done faithfully; It should be done appropriately; but obviously the interior will have to change to be brought up to modern standards.
“I think what we could take some inspiration from is the fire at Notre Dame in Paris recently when President Macron said ‘we will get this restored within five years’ and it looks as though that's going to happen.
“We hope that it will be possible to get the Royal Albion restored by its 200th anniversary in 2026.”