The Old Ship Hotel (also known as the Old Ship Inn and previously as The Ship)[a] is a hotel in central Brighton, UK, which contains the Old Ship Assembly Rooms, a Grade II* listed building. The building is the oldest hotel in Brighton, as the hotel is believed to have been built in 1559, with the assembly rooms being added in 1767.
History
The Old Ship Hotel is believed to date from 1559, as an unnamed house owned by Richard and John Gilham.[1][2] It is the oldest hotel in Brighton, and the first known record was in 1665.[2][3] The building was purchased in 1671 by Nicholas Tettersell, who owned the boat Charles II used to get to France.[2][3] The assembly rooms were built in 1767 in response to assembly rooms built at the nearby Castle Inn; the rooms were built by Robert Golden, with the Adam style inspired by Robert Adam.[1] The assembly rooms contained a ballroom on the first floor, which hosted the Prince Regent's Ball, as well as card and tea rooms.[1][4] Until 1777, the building hosted the town's post office.[2]
By 1885, the assembly rooms had been turned into auction rooms.[2] In the 1930s, the Old Ship began accepting homosexual men in one wing of the hotel.[11] The assembly rooms became a Grade II* listed building in 1952.[12]
Notes
^When the New Ship Inn was built nearby in 1650, the inn became known as the Old Ship Inn.