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Savoy Hotel, London

 

The site of the Savoy Hotel in the Strand has long been associated with wealth. The Strand has traditionally attracted wealthy people. Sitting west of the City of London, the City's stench was down wind, which made the Strand an ideal place for nobles to build their houses. They could enjoy fresh air, and still be close to their place of work in the City, easily accessible by boat on the nearby Thames, or by riding along the Strand which led back into the City at St Paul's Cathedral. In 1246 Henry III presented a gift of land on the Strand to Peter, Count of Savoy, his wife's uncle. Savoy then built himself a palace, the grandest of the Strand mansions.

By 1381 Savoy Palace was the residence of John of Gaunt, third son of Edward III. Unfortunately 1381 was also to see the Peasants Revolt, when John of Gaunt was blamed for imposing a hated poll tax. Rebels entered London, and made a point of completely destroying Savoy Palace. In 1512 a large hospital was built to replace the ruined palace, on orders of Henry VII left in his will. Savoy Hospital was the largest in England and the first to use a permanent medical staff. Savoy Hospital survived for two hundred years, until its closure in 1702, and final demolition in the nineteenth century. The only building to be spared demolition was the late fifteenth century Savoy Chapel which still survives today.

 

 

 

Savoy Theatre

The next phase of the Savoy's existence came in the 1870s when theatrical impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte was looking for a site for a new theatre to stage successful light operas being written by his creative team of Gilbert and Sullivan. He purchased the Savoy site, and in October 1881 Patience by Gilbert and Sullivan transferred to Carte's new Savoy Theatre. All D'Oyly Carte productions from that time were associated with the theatre. Gilbert and Sullivan's shows made Carte a fortune, and he invested his profits in building a lavish hotel next door to his theatre, the Savoy Hotel, opening on August 6th 1889. Ironically Gilbert and Sullivan's partnership was coming to an end around this time, but the show went on at the Savoy Hotel. All the latest technological tricks were used, with the Savoy being London's first hotel to be lit by electricity. The kitchen had a celebrity chef in Auguste Escoffier, and a show business and artistic clientele naturally gravitated towards the Savoy.

 

In many ways the Savoy reflected contemporary social contradictions characteristically described in Gilbert and Sullivan operas. This was an age when popular entertainment was really coming into its own, and when society as a whole was becoming increasingly democratic. More and more people were being granted voting rights and having access to education. Music was showing similar trends. Technological change in musical instrument production meant that music was no longer the preserve of the privileged. Of course alongside all this change was a fear of what it might bring. In France social revolution had brought anarchy and terror. So in Britain a caution and conservatism went along with change. This was reflected in the work of Gilbert and Sullivan where a sense of properness disguised a lot of subversive poking of fun. Similarly the Savoy Hotel, which seemed to serve a wealthy establishment, was not simply a place of luxury for the privileged. It was also jazz, art deco, and show biz, reflecting a new popular culture. Oscar Wilde stayed here with his scandalous lover Alfred Lord Douglas. Writers with radically new social ideas, such as H.G. Wells and George Bernard Shaw ate in the restaurants and drank in the American Bar. Monet and Whistler painted scenes from the windows. Into the twentieth century cinema became the most popular and accessible art form there had ever been, and film stars of the day used the Savoy. Vivian Leigh was first introduced to her future husband Laurence Olivier in the Savoy's Front Hall. Into the 1960s Bob Dylan, Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe and the Beatles all stayed here. So the Savoy isn't all luxury and privilege. It is also a product of a different society with wider opportunities. The Savoy might seem expensive, but the money that many families spend on holidays abroad could easily buy them a few great nights at the Savoy, with London's theatre land just outside the door. It would be wrong to see the hotel simply in terms of privilege, just as it would be wrong for the proprietors to present it as such - and perhaps it is a shame that the hotel web site shows its famous entrance stuffed with Rolls Royce cars. When I visited to take photographs for this page, London taxis were more typical, as you can see in the photo at the top of this page.

 

 

Savoy Chapel, the only part of the original Savoy Palace which now remains

If you want a brief and less expensive experience of the Savoy, try going to Savoy Tea, located on Reception level overlooking the Thames Foyer. Savoy Tea is a tea shop selling teas, jams and biscuits, china cups and saucers and tea accessories. You could also have afternoon tea in the Thames Foyer. The atmosphere in here is "smart casual".

Directions: Savoy Hotel is in the Strand, central London. Click here for an interactive map centred on the Savoy Hotel.

Address: Savoy Hotel, Strand, London, WC2R 0EU

Access: All public areas are accessible for wheelchair users. Bathroom doors can be removed in guest rooms to allow easier access.

Contact:

telephone: 020 7836 4343

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