The Metropole and Grand Hotels on The Leas
Introduction
The photograph on this page of The Metropole and Grand Hotels on The Leas by Marathon as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
The Metropole and Grand Hotels on The Leas
Image: © Marathon Taken: 22 Aug 2021
Folkestone had been a resort for the wealthy since Victorian times with large villas and hotels being built to take advantage of the magnificent sea views. People promenaded and took the sea air on The Leas, which was the most impressive and wealthy part of Folkestone. The Leas was designed in the mid 19th century by Decimus Burton, who also worked on buildings and gardens at London Zoo and Kew Gardens. The Grand Hotel seen here on the right was built between 1899 and 1903 while the Metropole was built between 1895 and 1897. The two hotels spent much of their time trying to outdo each other and rivalry between the two became intense. The Metropole closed in 1959 and is now apartments - see also https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5795726 The Grand, although it has many private apartments it is still a hotel and restaurant. See http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent-business/county-news/love-affair-with-hotel-survives-39436/ and http://www.warrenpress.net/FolkestoneThenNow/FolkestoneTheLeas.html
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
51.07481
Longitude
1.163447