London’s former Russell Hotel conceals a room lifelike extracted from the legendary RMS Titanic. In designing the main dining room on the Titanic, architect Charles Fitzroy Doll took inspiration from his previous London project. Today, the incredibly ornate Victorian hotel, is not only a Titanic restaurant, but also royal ornaments and monumental forms. Awash in marble and terracotta, the edifice still dominates the Russell Square area today.
A Victorian triumph
Charles Fitzroy Doll’s designs are the embodiment of the Victorian era. The first major project he completed with other architects was the India Office – the site from which British India was later governed. The palatial interiors of the building are an exemplary example of architecture from the Victorian Hanoverian era.
Built in 1898. The Russell Hotel also impresses with its Victorian style, although the building was constructed at the intersection of two eras – Victorian and Edwardian. The monumentalism of the Russell Square hotel in the Camden district stems from an architectural fascination with the defunct Château de Madrid palace next to the Forest of Bourbon. The Renaissance mansion was divided into clearly defined segments and exactly this motif can be seen in the Russell Hotel. It is also worth mentioning that the French château burned down during the French Revolution, more than a century before the first plans for the hotel.
As the hotel was inspired by a Renaissance chateau, the architect tried to translate this style into Victorian eclecticism. For this reason, the façade shows regular arches, attics, carved cartouches and arch groynes, as well as the characteristic French rustication going into the brickwork. However, it is not a simple Neo-Renaissance, but a play on form. The multi-layered façade conceals bulges, concavities and an almost baroque accumulation of ornamentation. Interestingly, the façade’s niches contain sculptures of British queens: Elizabeth I Tudor, Anne, Mary II and, most importantly, Victoria.
Throughout the rest of the façade are various royal symbols and those representing other countries. There is even room on the side for prime ministers of merit to the Victorian empire such as Lord Salibury, William Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli. Interestingly, both Gladstone and Lord Salibury lived to see the start of the hotel’s construction and it is possible that at least one of them may have seen his statue on the façade. It is also worth noting that most of the façade, including the sculptures, is made of terracotta in the colour of tea with milk.
Titanic souvenir
The rhythmic splendour of the façade foreshadows the opulence waiting inside. Flooded with Italian Carrian marble, the vestibule greets guests with classic forms. Multicoloured marble is noticeable on the walls, ceiling, stair columns, and only the floor stands out with an unusual mosaic. On the floor, the tiled signs of the zodiac reflect the spirit of the time and the mysticism of the late 19th century. The antique column heads or the bas-reliefs in the groin of the arches are also not to be missed.
A monumental marble staircase leads to a total of 334 hotel rooms, which are now operated by the Kimpton hotel company. The rooms are modern, so there is no point in looking at them closely, but it is still worth noting the stained glass in the windows. Noticeable are the coats of arms of London, England and the five-leafed roses of the Tudor dynasty. Similar symbolism can be found in another spectacular London hotel, the St Pancras, which you can read about HERE.
Of course, the most interesting aspect of the hotel is its connection to the legendary ship RMS Titanic. Doll designed the elegant restaurant with its distinctive beamed ceiling and carved column heads. A few years after the hotel was built, Doll, made famous by his design, was commissioned to create the interiors of the restaurant for the Titanic’s first-class passengers.
As the architect used almost identical solutions in both projects, today’s Fitz’s restaurant is the only piece of Titanic architecture that survives today.
Another element linking the Russell Hotel to the Titanic is a small sculpture of a dragon at the end of one of the railings. Named ‘Lucky George’, the sculpture had its replica on the Titanic. In turn, the adjective ‘Lucky’ is a rather obvious reference to the fact that the other George was not as lucky as the one at the hotel.
An open-air museum of the era
Fortunately, the hotel survived the turbulent years of World War II, although the dome was damaged in one air raid. Despite 125 years since opening, the hotel continues to serve guests, but under a different name – the Kimpton Fitzroy Hotel. Interestingly, the Kimpton chain decided to add ‘Fitzroy’ to the name after the architect.
The Russell Hotel is not just another incredibly lavish London hotel, but also an interesting piece of history. Its intriguing link to the Titanic make it unique in the world. What’s more, the design pays homage to the distinguished Victorian era, and is therefore a symbol of Britain’s bygone imperial era.
Source: Living London History
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