Authors: Dr Sue Rosen and Liz Gorman
Client: Universal Hotels
Our team prepared this Heritage Impact Statement to allow our client to make minor internal and external alterations to join 79 Oxford Street to the Brighton Hotel, to increase the footprint of their premises.
The Hotel stands on land originally granted to Alexander Donaldson. Subsequently, land was transferred many times, finally to John Henry Humphreys, who, in 1847 constructed a house on the lot adjoining number 79 Oxford Street.
From 1855, No. 79 came under the proprietorship of Daniel Holborow who constructed a shop there. The two sites were commercially utilised from this date on. In 1864, the prominent corner site began its life as a pub, as the Eagle Tavern run by William Love. In the early 1870's the tavern was renamed the Commercial Hotel. In 1896 the hotel's name was changed the the Brighton Hotel, this name being in use ever since.