Railway Hotel, Edgware
The Railway Hotel is a former pub and hotel in Station Road, Edgware and a Grade II listed building with Historic England.[1] The building is currently (February 2017) being used as a used car lot. As of January 2019 work has stalled on its renovation. According to a source the restaurant is supposed to open in mid-February 2019.
History
This is an excellent example of a picturesquely conceived interwar road house, designed in a medieval idiom. The architect, A. E. Sewell, was Truman's in-house architect. Plans dated October 1929 were approved in November 1929. The building, located opposite Edgware parish church, is a notable interwar feature of what was to become one of the classic suburbs in Greater London. It exemplifies the modern idea of wayside hospitality, as revised for motor car-borne trade (viz the large car park to rear), but expressed in a highly romanticized style. It is among the best examples of a picturesque historicist road-house in the country.
The historic building closed in 2006 after, apparently, not reaching health and safety standards.
Damage and uncertainty
Through the 2010s there were several owners, none making any significant progress. In 2016 an arson attack left a portion of the ground floor destroyed and the public began to fear developers would build new apartments after a lack of support from the council.
A petition was launched in 2016 to Historic England in an attempt to try and restore the building and received 2,287 signatures.
In early 2018 it was sold for £2 Million and the outside was used as a car wash and coach stop point, causing upset online.
Renovation
In September 2018 it was announced that it was to be renovated and turned into a restaurant. Work on this is currently underway.
References
External links
- https://www.barnet.gov.uk/citizen-home/libraries/local-studies-and-archives/pocket-histories/edgware-and-burnt-oak/edgware-station-road.html
- http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/14611461._It_s_a_shame____Historic_pub_badly_damaged_in_fire/
- http://www.francisfrith.com/uk/edgware/edgware-railway-hotel-1948_e126003
- http://www.barnettross.co.uk/detail.php?id=2449
- http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/north_london_news/14685642.Petition_to_save_fire_damaged_pub_from_developers_takes_off/
- http://boakandbailey.com/2016/08/pub-preservation-railway-hotel-edgware/