Falmouth Hotel Mariners

Falmouth Hotel Mariners

A large hotel constructed in 1865, extended in 1890 by Silvanus Trevail and further altered in the mid-20th century. The building is rendered stucco on masonry with a plinth, moulded strings and other stucco details. The original part features a bracketed eaves cornice and dry Delabole slate roofs with gabled dormers. The entrance wing has a very steep baronial-style hipped roof with a cast-iron balustrade or cresting surrounding a central flat roof. The extension is one floor higher with a parapet cornice similar to the main cornice. Large stacks with moulded and bracketed cornices are positioned axially to the original part, with additional stacks over the parapet of the extension.

The building follows a large plan, with the original T-shaped form having its head as a shallow entrance wing. The 1890 extension added a 5-storey rear wing to create an overall H-plan, plus a 2-storey wing to the centre of the right-hand (landward) side, along with some later 20th-century extensions. The design combines Classical style with some French Renaissance influence in the entrance wing.

The original building, now the entrance wing, is 4 storeys plus attic with a symmetrical entrance front of 1:2:1 bays. Paired end pilasters frame the ground and upper floors, flanking the central bays. Channelled rustication decorates the lower three floors. A moulded entablature with bracketed cornice sits above the ground floor, with a moulded entablature and modillion architrave above the first floor and a moulded and carved sill string above the second floor. A central L-plan porch features square columns, paired at the left-hand corner, with a moulded entablature. Later glazing infill includes spoked fanlight heads. Above the porch is a balustraded and arcaded lean-to open balcony with slender columns. Original windows comprise transomed casements to the lower floors and sashes to the upper floors, with round-arched heads to the top-floor windows.

The left-hand (seaward) return is 3:6:1 bays, extended to the ground floor of the central bays in the 20th century but otherwise original. Open balconies occupy the first floor of the 1865 section. Tripartite openings feature a pediment above the second-floor window and a moulded hood above the third-floor window.

The 1890 wing on the right is 5 storeys and 3 bays. Iron grilles protect the first and second floors. Channelled rustication decorates the lower three floors, with bays at ground and first-floor level divided by pilasters, including paired end pilasters. All are surmounted by strings with full entablature featuring brackets and modillions. Moulded strings adorn the upper floors. The landward elevation lacks balconies but is otherwise similar to the seaward elevation. A 2-storey hip-roofed extension at right angles to the centre features a modillion eaves cornice. This was added in 1890 by Trevail and originally possessed a flat roof. It is joined to the main block by a 2-storey linking wing. The main wing has a 5-window-range outer elevation with channelled rustication to the ground floor and mid-floor strings with round-arched heads to the first-floor windows. A 20th-century flat-roofed extension adjoins the ground floor of the linking wing, with further 20th-century additions to the right. The rear is 2:1:2 bays with central tripartite openings to the first and second floors, otherwise similar to the returns of this wing, with 20th-century additions to the ground floor.

The interior is of very fine quality and retains most of its original architectural features. The entrance hall is panelled with a moulded plaster ceiling cornice. The room to the left has a deeply-coved cornice. A round-arched doorway opens into the central stair hall, which features an open-well staircase with a scrolled mahogany handrail to a cast-iron balustrade on an open string and a moulded ceiling cornice. The stair hall connects to a main hall and reception room via a round-arched arcade. This room possesses a modillion ceiling cornice and other features of interest.

This hotel is an exceptionally fine example of its building type in Cornwall. Its palatial style recalls contemporary "station hotels" at great railway termini and hotels in other seaside resorts such as Scarborough. It marks in a very bold way the beginning of tourism in Falmouth and the exploitation of the town's excellent seaside location for leisure activities.