Goole's Proud Industrial Heritage

Goole is a unique town with a proud industrial heritage and has the largest inland port in the country at its heart.

As the first building to be erected in Goole in 1824, The Lowther Hotel - or The Banks Arms, as it was originally known - sits serenely alongside the docks. It was the town's principal municipal building for much of the 19th Century and the operational base for the Aire & Calder Navigation Company into the 20th Century.

During the late 20th century and early 21st century, The Lowther Hotel fell into disrepair and was virtually derelict when it was bought by York-based building restorers The Julie Howard Partnership in 2008. Thankfully, the hotel's fortunes were revived by an extensive, two-year, multi-million pound restoration project, which resulted in English Heritage upping its Listed Building status from Grade II to Grade II* in just six weeks. Just 5.5 per cent of the nation's listed buildings fall into this category.

A key factor in English Heritage's decision was the discovery and subsequent restoration of rare and unique murals depicting scenes of the docks, which are thought to have been created some time between 1826 and 1830 by a shipping agent, master mariner and mural painter from Selby by the name of Mr Bromley. The murals line the walls of a suite of rooms on the first floor, and had been covered with artex and boxed in for decades. They were only rediscovered when Julie and Howard Duckworth of The Julie Howard Partnership set about restoring the hotel. As part of the restoration project, they have taken care to ensure that reminders of The Lowther Hotel's historical significance are on display for all to see.

They've also acknowledged other aspects of Goole's rich industrial heritage throughout the building:

The New Bridge Lounge

This hotel's lounge is named after The New Bridge Inn, which stood on the site of the old Half Moon Inn on Swinefleet Road, Old Goole next to the Dutch River Bridge. It was the first building that people would see on the way into Old Goole and was designed in the Dutch style in an architectural nod to Sir Cornelius Wasterdyk Vermuyden, the Dutch engineer who drained the surrounding farmland and dug the Dutch River in the early 17th century. The exterior of the building was decorated with colourful, ornate friezes, making it something of a landmark.

Sadly, it was demolished early one Sunday morning in 2008 - just days after it had been inspected by English Heritage. Some of the friezes were rescued from the rubble and they now line the walls of the New Bridge Lounge.

The Burlington Restaurant

The ornate hand-carved corbels decorating the hotel's restaurant was salvaged from another historic Goole venue known as The Burlington on Burlington Crescent, which closed in 2008. They depict fruit, flowers, vegetables and other goods that would have been brought into Goole in the 1800s.

The Aire and Calder Function Room

Our function room is named after The Aire and Calder Navigation Company, which was responsible for building the docks, triggering the subsequent development of the new town of Goole. The Lowther Hotel was the operational base for the Aire & Calder Navigation Company into the 20th Century and its meetings would have taken place in the Mural Rooms on the first floor. It's thought that unique murals that line the walls were created to show potential investors what the docks would look like when they were complete.

The Bartholomew Suite

The most spacious and luxurious of our bedrooms is named after William Hamond Bartholomew (1831 to 1919), an engineer, inventor and philanthropist who played an important role in the development of Goole's docks. He was responsible for several innovative inventions, including Tom Puddings boats and the coal hoists. Almost all of the moveable bridges spanning the waterways in and around Goole docks were built to his design. Bartholomew is believed to have lived and worked from The Lowther Hotel for a time.