A blue plaque is to be unveiled to recognise England’s oldest hotel – the Lowther in Goole.
The hotel was awarded the accolade by tourism body VisitEngland earlier this year after the previous oldest holder, the Royal Clarence Hotel in Exeter, burned down.
The Grade II*-listed Lowther Hotel was built in 1824 by Sir Edward Banks, renowned for building bridges over the River Thames in London. It originally housed architects and engineers who were creating Goole docks and the canal network.
Goole Civic Society decided to recognise the hotel’s new accolade by erecting the Blue Plaque, the second in the town.
The Mayor of Goole, Coun Terence Smith, will officially unveil the plaque at 2pm on Saturday, May 6th.
Howard Duckworth, joint owner of the Lowther, in Aire Street, said: “We were thrilled to have the Lowther confirmed as the country’s oldest hotel and delighted that the Civic Society is honouring it with a Blue Plaque.
“The hotel has exactly the same footprint as it had when it was built - so if your great-great-grandmother or father came to see if today they would still recognise it.”
The Chair of Goole Civic Society, Margaret Hicks-Clarke, said: “We thought it fitting that the country’s youngest Mayor should unveil a Blue Plaque at England’s oldest hotel.
“This is our second Blue Plaque. The first was unveiled in Manuel Street a year ago to commemorate Percy Jeeves, the cricketer whose name inspired the famous PG Wodehouse character.
“We hope to unveil more in the future to recognise the special people and places that contributed to Goole’s unique heritage.”