ONLY – example of ‘Victorian Gothic' architecture in Ramsey- former Britannia Hotel - Ramsey, Isle of Man - Superlatives on Waymarking.com

The former Britannia Hotel is located within a conservation area on Waterloo Road in Ramsey and is not a registered building. It is, however, the only example of Victorian Gothic architecture in Ramsey.

The former station hotel opened its doors in 1847 on a site immediately opposite the northern terminus of the Manx Electric Railway.

The owners of the building, Heron & Brearley Ltd, the Isle of Man’s largest brewery company closed the pub in 2014 since which time it has remained empty.

Heron & Brearley applied for permission to demolish the building in early 2021 but the Government’s Planning Committee turned down their application stating that the proposal failed to protect or enhance the fabric and setting of the conservation area.”
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In late January 2023 Heron & Brearly applied for planning permission to turn the building into flats.

Isle of Man Today when reporting this planning application noted that “While the outside of the building is currently in a sorry state, the inside has fared even worse as leaking from the flat roof has caused what H&B described as ‘considerable damage to the rooms below, with the existing timber roof joists, now sodden, collapsing in places’ while damp and mould is said to be ‘prevalent’ throughout the building.”

Manx Radio in its reporting noted that “the building itself dates back to 1847 and is said to be Ramsey’s only example of Victorian Gothic architecture and the BBC website in its report stated that the building “is the only example of “Victorian Gothic” architecture in Ramsey.”
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Gothic Revival architecture varies considerably in its faithfulness to the medieval original, both in terms of ornamental style and principles of construction. The Britannia Hotel thus has only limited features which mark it out as falling within this style. The most notable feature being the high pointed gables on the Waterloo Road elevation.
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Type of documentation of superlative status: News articles - BBC News and IOMTodaay Location of coordinates: Main entrance on Waterloo Road Web Site: Not listed

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