THE BROWN'S HOTEL
BROWN'S HISTORY
The Birth of Brown's
In 1837 James Brown, an enterprising man who was the celebrated Lord Byron's valet, saw a niche in the market for a first rate, genteel inn, an early 19th century term for an hotel. He acquired the lease of 23 Dover Street, having chosen the property carefully in this fashionable district of London, realising that it would be an ideal location to attract those who wished to reside in 'Town for the Season'.
Brown made an advantageous marriage. His bride, Sarah Willis, was Lady Byron's personal maid and it is believed that Her Ladyship gave financial support to the new hotel.
Her influential connections and recommendations would certainly have been valuable in helping to establish the reputation of the hotel. In addition, Sarah was an astute business woman who set very high standards of service and paid great attention to detail, a tradition which is a hallmark of the hotel today.
This was a successful partnership. Sarah, behind the scenes, in charge of finances and housekeeping, whilst the courteous Brown, who had that invaluable gift as an hotelier of making his guests feel completely at home, managing the front of house with tact and discretion.
By 1838, Brown had acquired three further adjoining houses; thus he had four substantial and adjoining houses which still constitute the Dover Street front of the hotel. His business improved in the early 1840's with the Industrial Revolution, the expansion of the railways, and the 1851 Exhibition which put Brown's firmly on the map as visitors came from all over the world. In 1859, after 22 years of hard work, James Brown decided to sell and sadly died the following year. Sarah died in 1875.
The purchaser of Brown's was James John Ford who owned Ford's Hotel in Manchester Square. He originally started a livery stable and then took the logical step of setting up his own hotel for the travellers who used his stables.
Brown's continued to prosper and in 1882 the management was taken over by Ford's son, Henry who, having lived in Canada for some years, returned with 'new world drive' and a desire to make improvements to the amenities. He was astute enough to realise that the traditional atmosphere was part of the charm of Brown's and therefore the modernisation programme was unobtrusive but included fixed baths, a lift (elevator) and electric lights.
Alexander Graham Bell, a guest at Brown's came to London to demonstrate his invention - the telephone. The first successful call in Britain was made from Brown's in 1876.
Another innovation was the provision of a smoking room for gentlemen and a public dining room. Prior to this, hotels had quite different arrangements as there were no public rooms apart from the reception hall. Instead, guests hired individual suites and dined privately. Originally Brown's had 16 such suites. Hotels were however licensed for wines, beers and spirits.
In 1889 the Ford family purchased the St George's Hotel which occupied three houses in Albemarle Street back to back with Brown's. It was a comparatively simple matter to join the two hotels and at the same time add a fifth floor to both.
On Albemarle Street a new front of stucco and an entrance portico were built and two panels of blue and gold mosaic, bearing the legend of Brown's and St George's Hotel, were placed on the wall - both still exist today.
In 1905 the property acquired three more Albemarle Street houses and structural alterations took place. This paved the way for more public rooms, the contemporary dining room, lounges and a writing room. The panelling and woodwork installed in these public rooms was of the highest quality and is still very much in evidence today.
Creating a Unique Ambiance
During his long reign as proprietor, Henry Ford created a unique ambiance. His brochure of 1894 stated that a number of visitors to London would "desire the quiet and privacy of what is known as a private hotel". This sentiment, expressed by Ford, is still valid today.
Some notable visitors to Brown's have included John Pierpoint Morgan, banker and financier, the aforementioned Alexander Graham Bell, Napoleon lll and Empress Eugenie, Theodore Roosevelt who was married whilst a guest at Brown's and his son Franklin who honeymooned at Brown's. Other royal guests included Queen Emma Regent of the Netherlands with her 14 year old daughter, Princess Wilhelmina, and her daughter, Princess Juliana. Queen Elizabeth of the Belgians and her family lived at the hotel during World War I; Haile Selassi Emperor of Ethiopia stayed in 1936 and King Zog of Albania stayed in 1939 - both were refugees from Mussolini's incursions of their respective countries. King George ll of the Hellenes, exiled from Greece in 1924, resided at Brown's until 1935. Before leaving to return to his throne, he decorated the general manager with the Knight's Cross of the Royal Order of the Phoenix. Famous British guests have included Cecil Rhodes founder of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Rudyard Kipling who first stayed in 1892 on his honeymoon and stayed regularly until his death in 1936 (he found the hotel's serene atmosphere conducive to creative writing), and Agatha Christie who based her book "At Bertram's Hotel" on Brown's.
June 1890 saw one of the most far reaching events ever to have taken place at Brown's. The International Niagara Commission, under the chairmanship of the famous Lord Kelvin and comprising of representatives from the UK, Canada, France, Switzerland, and the USA, decided during a meeting in what is now known as the Niagara Room, "in favour of the adoption of electrical methods as the chief means of distributing Niagara power". The inauguration of the alternating current system resulted and has subsequently been adopted throughout the world.
The Finest Tradition of Discreet Service
The following anecdote exemplifies the tradition of discreet service at Brown's:-
In the 1880's Spain was in civil turmoil. The reigning monarch Alphonso Xll was opposed by Don Carlos The Pretender, who resided for a time at Brown's. A staunch supporter of Alphonso's was also a guest at the same time as Don Carlos but neither was aware of the other's presence in the hotel due to the resourcefulness of the staff.
This second anecdote bears testimony to the genuine affection regular guests hold for Brown's - thinking of it as a second home rather than an hotel:-
When a gentleman travelling to London by train was asked by a fellow passenger in which hotel he stayed in London, the gentleman simply replied: 'I don't stay in an hotel, I stay at Brown's'.
Brown's continues to aspire to achieving that same discretion, affection and loyalty from it's guests today.
Brown's Hotel was purchased by Raffles Holdings in 1997 and is managed by Raffles International and Sister heritage properties include the legendary Raffles Hotel in Singapore, the famed Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten, Hamburg, the classic Hotel Le Royal, Phnom Penh and Grand Hotel d'Angkor, Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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