Norbreck Castle Hotel
| Norbreck Castle Hotel | |
|---|---|
Front elevation
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| General information | |
| Location | Blackpool, Lancashire, England |
| Coordinates | 53°51′30″N 3°02′59″W / 53.8582°N 3.0497°W |
| Management | Britannia Hotels |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 480 |
| Number of restaurants | 2 |
| Parking | 800 |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
Norbreck Castle Hotel is a large hotel located on Queens Promenade in the Norbreck area of Blackpool, Lancashire England on the sea front. The hotel has 480 bedrooms and 22 conference suites including the Norcalympia Conference Centre.
Originally built as a large private country house in 1869, it was purchased around the end of the 19th century by J.H. Shorrocks who used the house to entertain friends and colleagues at lavish weekend parties. The popularity of these parties led to Shorrocks running them on a commercial basis by taking paying guests.
In 1912, Shorrocks formed a public company and expanded the building, now named the Norbreck Hydro, in several phases, adding a ballroom, swimming pool and solarium in the early 1930s. By then the Hydro was patronised by nobility and the British upper class, in addition to being a venue for the top stars of stage, screen and radio.
During World War II the hotel was commandeered by the British government as offices and accommodation for evacuated civil servants. The hotel remained under government control for eleven years until being handed back in 1951. At that time the hotel had - Open air car parking for 250 cars, five tennis courts, an 18 hole golf course, a bowling green, a 600 seat restaurant, a ballroom which when used for conferences seated 850, a second smaller ballroom for private parties, two cocktail bars, a swimming pool and 400 bedrooms, 97 of which had private bathrooms.
In the late 1970s, the hotel's disco became the venue for a number of concerts by punk rock, new wave and mod revival bands. Those who played there included the Angelic Upstarts, Penetration and the Purple Hearts. The venue also saw gigs by two bands before they became famous. Adam and the Ants performed there when they were still a punk rock band in March 1979, a performance which One Way System drummer Dave Brown, listed in his top five gigs. And on 15 March 1979, The Pretenders played one of their first ever gigs at the Norbreck. The American band, The Stray Cats, who had moderate chart success 1980/81 also played one of their first UK gigs here. They were booed off stage and a fight broke out, when the lead singer, Brian Setzer spat on the audience. The concert was cancelled, when the police arrived.
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