The North Euston Hotel is a hotel in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. It was built 1840–41, to a design by Decimus Burton. During the second half of the 19th century, the building was used by the War Department as a School of Musketry; by the end of the century it had reverted to its original purpose. The hotel has been designated a Grade II listed building by English Heritage.
Fleetwood was a 19th-century planned town, developed by local landowner Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood. Inspired by southern English seaside resorts like St Leonards-on-Sea, Hesketh-Fleetwood employed architect Decimus Burton to lay out his new town and design the main buildings.[2] Hesketh-Fleetwood intended that Fleetwood would be an important stop for rail passengers travelling from London to Scotland; in the 1840s, there was no railway over the Lake District hills and passengers would be able to disembark at Fleetwood before taking a boat to Scotland.[3] A hotel was a vital part of this plan, and since rail passengers would be embarking at London Euston, Hesketh-Fleetwood decided to name it the North Euston Hotel.[4]
Burton designed the hotel as a focal point in the town.[5] Construction started in 1840 and it opened the following year.[6] A regatta was held in celebration of the hotel's opening in August 1841.[7] The hotel's first manager was a Corsican man called Xenon Vantini.[8] By the 1850s, a direct rail route to Scotland had been built, ending Hesketh-Fleetwood's hopes of Fleetwood becoming a major transport hub.[9] The town's tourist industry was failing and the North Euston was sold to the government.[10] From 1861–1867 the War Department used it as a School of Musketry.[11][12] Later, with additional buildings, it was converted into Euston Barracks.[9][13] In 1898 the North Euston reverted to its original purpose.[10]
On 26 April 1950 English Heritage designated the hotel a Grade II listed building.[6] The Grade II designation—the lowest of the three grades—is for buildings that are "nationally important and of special interest".[14]
The hotel is built of ashlar with slate roofs.[6] It has a curved plan, with a front façade that stretches approximately 300 yards (270 m).[15] The north and south wings have two regular storeys with a mansard roof, and dormers providing accommodation on the third floor. The central portion has three full storeys. The north wing, which faces along the Esplanade, curves almost a full 90 degrees, while the south wing is shorter, curving roughly 45 degrees. At the front of the building there is a porte-cochère (porch) supported by fluted Roman Doric columns.[16]