Great Western Hotel Newquay 1909

[Jagoman]

Hi Robbthomas

Photo of Cyrils Mother Violet Annita Bennett

Jagoman

[robbthomas]

Hi ThrelfallYorky,

I checked on your particular point with my mum as she lived at the Great Western in the 1920s/30s. To her knowledge, the Great Western was owned by Cyril's father and passed onto Cyril in due course. Not sure how it came into John Varcoe Hooper's hands in the first place so there may have been a Railway connection before this time due to its proximity to the railway station. However I always assumed it was named after the Beach that it looks over.

robbthomas

[robbthomas]

Hi Jagoman,

Many thanks for the photos. Mum will be very interested to see them - unfortunately she is not online so will have to post them to her.

Not really a fair swap but please find attached Cyril on horseback around the 1930s.

Can I ask what your connection is to the Hoopers or Great Western Hotel?

Many thanks
robbthomas

[Jagoman]

Hi Robbthomas,

Great photo. I have only seen ones from WW1. Cryril would have been my first Cousin once removed his Mother would have been my Grand Aunt Violet. Edwin Alexander Bennett the Master Marineer Violet's father would have been my Great Grand Father. I know after Edwin retired they run a Guest House called Penhenver in Newquay.

I have a few more negatives that I will try and post with photos of Cryril.

Kind regards

Jagoman

[Jagoman]

Hi Robbthomas

Heres another photo from the same film roll. Not sure who the man on the RH side is.

Jagoman

[Jagoman]

Another photo could well be Cyril on horse back from same film roll.

Jagoman

[wyndham]

Possible reference to the GWR Hotel in Newquay can be found in Oliver Carter's book "An Illustrated History of British Railway Hotels 1838-1983" published by Silver Link Publishing, May 1990.  Page 83 states 'Financial involvement also extended to the lending of money to finance hotel projects.  More holiday resorts with more hotels and more passenger traffic was business worth encouraging, but hoteliers new to the business often lacked the necessary financial backing and looked elsewhere for help.  For example, the GWR came to the assistance of Cornish Hotels Ltd in 1891 with a £2000 loan (repayable over 16 years) for the purchase of the Atlantic Hotel at Newquay.'.

Presumably included in the agreement was an undertaking from the purchasers to rename the premises as the Great Western Hotel?

[youngtug]

The Great Western Hotel was built 1879 and the Atlantic was built 1892, both designed by Silvanus Trevail.

[wyndham]

Youngtug -That's interesting.  It would appear that the author of the book on Railway Hotels has got his facts wrong.  There is no mention in the book of a GWR hotel.  I mistakenly thought that the Atlantic had been renamed.

Although from what is written above seems to suggest that the GWR hotel was also a recipient of funds?