The Norfolk Royale Hotel is a Grade II listed building and 4 star Victorian hotel in Richmond Hill, Bournemouth, Dorset in England. [1] The hotel is one of Bournemouth's most historic buildings and stands behind St. Andrew's Church, Richmond Hill and opposite the Sacred Heart Church.
The hotel was built as 2 large villas between 1840 and 1850 for Henry Fitzalan-Howard, the 14th Duke of Norfolk. It became a hotel in 1870.
In 1946, hotel guest Doreen Margaret Marshall was murdered by serial killer Neville Heath. [2]
In November 1992, Price Waterhouse offered the hotel for sale at £4 million and two years later it was on the market for £6 million. The hotel was put up for sale again in 2008. [3]
In 2017, the hotels owner took a 10 million pound loan. [4] In April 2022 it was reported that the hotel had been put up for sale for £9 million. [5] The sale was reportedly intended to clear the owners debts. [6]
In early 2023, the hotel was purchased by coach operator Alfa Leisureplex Group. [7] They bought it from Peel Hotels for an undisclosed sum. [8]
In October 2023, an elderly woman was rescued after her car accidentally reversed into a ditch in the hotel car park. [9] Later that month the hotels new owners applied for planning permission for a remodelling of the interior including 31 new bedrooms and a larger entertainment space. [10]
Bournemouth is a coastal resort town on the south coast in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. The town's urban subdivision had a population of 187,503 at the 2011 census making it the largest town in the county; the town is part of the South East Dorset conurbation, which has a population of 465,000.
Tower Park is a leisure and retail park, located at Mannings Heath, in Poole, Dorset, England. It was one of the first complexes of its kind in Europe when it opened in 1989.
Sandbanks is an affluent neighbourhood of Poole, Dorset, on the south coast of England, situated on a narrow spit of around 1 km2 or 0.39 sq mi extending into the mouth of Poole Harbour.
Henry Granville Fitzalan-Howard, 14th Duke of Norfolk, was a British peer and politician. He was hereditary Earl Marshal and the last undisputed Chief Butler of England.
Dorset Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Dorset in South West England, which includes the largely rural area covered by Dorset Council, and the urban conurbation of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.
Canford Heath is a suburb and area of heathland in Poole, Dorset, known for being the largest heathland in Dorset, and the largest lowland heath in the UK. It is also the name of the housing development built on the heathland in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The area is split into two wards, and at the 2011 census the combined population of the two wards was 14,079.
Hants & Dorset Motor Services Ltd was a stage carriage bus service operator in southern England between 1920 and 1983.
Neville George Clevely Heath was an English murderer who killed two young women in the summer of 1946. He was executed in Pentonville Prison, London, in October 1946.
Wilts & Dorset is a bus and coach operator providing services in East Dorset, South Wiltshire, and West Hampshire. It operates services under the morebus brand around Bournemouth and Poole, and under the Salisbury Reds brand around Salisbury and Amesbury. It is part of Go South Coast, a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group.
Castlepoint is a shopping centre in Strouden Park, Bournemouth, Dorset, in the United Kingdom, occupying a 41-acre (17 ha) site containing around 40 shops, including major retailers such as Marks & Spencer, New Look, H&M, Asda, Sainsbury's, and B&Q. It is situated 3 miles (4.8 km) north-east from the centre of town, off Castle Lane West on the former site of The Hampshire Centre.
The Bournemouth Air Festival is an annual air show held along the coast at Bournemouth, in Dorset, England. It has featured aircraft from the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy, as well as civil aviation displays. Since its formation in 2008, the festival claims to have entertained over ten million people.
The Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart, or Sacred Heart Church, is a Roman Catholic church in the seaside resort of Bournemouth, England. Located on Albert Road close to the town centre, it was the first Roman Catholic church built in Bournemouth and is part of the Diocese of Portsmouth. It has been designated a Grade II listed building by English Heritage.
Riviera Hotel is a hotel at Bowleaze Cove, Weymouth, Dorset, England. Overlooking Weymouth Bay, the hotel was built in 1936–37 and has been a Grade II listed building since 1997. Historic England has remarked that it "epitomises the austere approach of the modernists in the immediate pre-war era, and suggests the designer's acquaintance with contemporary work in Rome and elsewhere".
East Cliff is a suburb and ward in Bournemouth, Dorset, England.
West Cliff is a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. West Cliff is south of Westbourne and east of Branksome in Poole.
Bournemouth Town Centre is an area of Bournemouth, Dorset. The town centre is the central business district and is located near the coast between West Cliff and East Cliff.
Richmond Hill is an area of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. Just to the north of Bournemouth Town Centre, south of Richmond Park and west of Lansdowne. The area is around a road of the same name.
Wimborne Market was an historic market in a large covered structure in Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England. It ceased to trade on 19 December 2021 after 165 years of trading. The market was demolished and the land redeveloped.
St. Andrew's Church is a Grade II listed Gothic Victorian church in Richmond Hill, Bournemouth, Dorset, England. A United Reformed church, it is noted for being the largest church in the town.
Barclays House is an office block in Poole, Dorset, in England. It was constructed by Barclays bank from 1972 to 1975 as part of a move to decentralise its offices from London. Barclays left the site in January 2022 and put the structure up for sale by sealed bid auction. The highest bidder was Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council but they withdrew from the purchase in September 2022.