Rowton Houses

Last updated
Rowton Houses
Industry Hospitality
Founder Lord Rowton
Headquarters
Number of locations
6
The Rowton House in Highgate, Birmingham, now a hotel ParagonHotelBirmingham (2).JPG
The Rowton House in Highgate, Birmingham, now a hotel

Rowton Houses was a chain of hostels built in London, England, by the Victorian philanthropist Lord Rowton to provide decent accommodation for working men in place of the squalid lodging houses of the time.

George Orwell, in his 1933 book Down and Out in Paris and London , wrote about lodging houses: [1]

The best are the Rowton Houses, where the charge is a shilling, for which you get a cubicle to yourself, and the use of excellent bathrooms. You can also pay half a crown for a 'special', which is practically hotel accommodation. The Rowton Houses are splendid buildings, and the only objection to them is the strict discipline, with rules against cooking, card playing, etc.

The Rowton Houses throughout London were:

The architect for the bulk of the houses was Harry Bell Measures FRIBA, who also designed the tube stations for the Central London Railway in 1900 and was well known as the designer of many army barracks.

There was also a Rowton House in Highgate, Birmingham, which opened on 29 June 1903. It was built by the Birmingham Rowton Houses Ltd, from the designs and under the supervision of Measures. This building later became a hotel. [5]

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References

  1. Orwell, George (1933). "Chapter 37". Down and Out in Paris and London. London: Victor Gollancz.
  2. Mark Gould, Jo Revill (24 October 2004). "Luxury beckons for East End's house of history". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  3. "A Brief History of Arlington House". Aisling. 2006. Archived from the original on 26 November 2017.
  4. "About us". One Housing Group - Arlington. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  5. "History". Rowton Hotel Birmingham. Retrieved 2019-04-16.