“"We don’t remember days, we remember moments."

Dovercourt Pubs, Clubs, Hotels & Meeting Places

The Alexandra Hotel, Marine Parade, Dovercourt Bay, Essex.

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A01 Alexandra Hotel, Dovercourt Bay (1904) Valentines FW
The newly opened Alexandra Hotel, Dovercourt 1904
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Officially opened on May 25th 1903, the hotel was described as a 'fine and handsome hotel' and a 'handsome and palatial building'.
On 19 May 1905, King Edward VII visited Dovercourt.  The main purpose of the visit was to inspect the local militia.  In the evening before returning to London, the King had dinner with his officers in the Alexandra Hotel, now Alexandra House.
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Alexandra House is set in delightful grounds on Marine Parade to the east of the town centre.  
The location offers panoramic views of the sea front and a relaxed pace of life.
Google Link & Postcode:  CO12 3JY

~ Alexandra Hotel, Dovercourt Bay ~
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The Belfoyne Hotel, 2-4 Cliff Road, Dovercourt Bay, Essex

The Bird in Hand, Main Road, Upper Dovercourt

The Bird In Hand was situated on Main Road. This pub closed in 1997 and was demolished in 1998

The Cliff Hotel, Marine Parade, Dovercourt Bay, Essex

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CL06 Cliff Hotel, Dovercourt, Essex (1967) FW
The Cliff Hotel, Marine Parade, Dovercourt Bay, Essex (1967)

The Hotel was built in the 1862 in conjunction with John Bagshaw  (Harwich M.P) along with Orwell Terrace. 
Sadly after Bagshaw's  bankruptcy it passed into the hands of Daniel & Sons and later sold again in 1883 after instruction from the Chelmsford Land Company (Limited) at auction, to the Dovercourt Cliff Hotel Co.
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It remains open until January 2017 with 27 guest bedrooms, all of which have private en-suite bathrooms 
There is also a Facebook page 
https://www.facebook.com/thecliffhoteldovercourt/
The advertisement below include one from 1905  when a Handel Henrico Packer was the  proprietor. 
Google Link & Postcode:  CO12 3RE

~ The Cliff Hotel, Marine Parade, Dovercourt Bay ~
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The Devonshire Arms, Tollgate, Upper Dovercourt Bay

D02 The Devonshire Arms (1955) Sanbridge H&D

The Elco Cafe, Front View, Marine Parade (1938) H&D

The Elco Café, along Marine Parade, Dovercourt, was also known as “Cliff Hall” and was built around 1905, adjacent to the Alexandra Hotel Gardens. Originally its purpose was to operate as a holiday accommodation, to cater for the increasing numbers of visitors to the seaside in Edwardian Britain.

However, this large house was later requisitioned by the military during WW1 (1914-1918) as a temporary hospital and convalescent home, to men wounded on the Western Front. It was able to offer 120 beds for the sick and injured soldiers.

During the 1930’s the house was acquired by John Elliot, who renamed it “The Elco Café” and operated as both Hotel & Restaurant, with branded cutlery and china, some of which can be seen below.

Once again, in WW2 the building was requisitioned by the Military, possibly for its strategic position along the seafront, but again because of the large size of the building and previous military history. In 1940, the Elco was targeted by the Luftwaffe and incendiary devices damaged much of the 2nd floor. However, repairs were undertaken, while still serving military purposes for the WRENS for the remaining duration of the war and a short time post-war.

Post war it was again used for holiday accommodation, but the catering side was limited and a financial dispute between John Elliot and the Admiralty went on for several years, without much progress. See J. Elliott v The Admiralty: claim for damage done to "Elco" Cafe and Hotel, Dovercourt, Essex 1944 – 1950.

Sadly the Elco never really recovered from the bomb damage and extended usage by the Military, it was eventually abandoned and fell into disrepair causing some embarrassment to locals and visitors alike, leading to its eventual demolition during the summer of 1972 (along with the Gables & Cliff Pavilion) and is now the site of Wimborne house, which was built in 1980.

~ The Elco Cafe & Hotel, Marine Parade, Dovercourt Bay ~ 
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ELM01 The Elm's Cliff Road, Dovercourt (The Manse) Gibson & Co FW

The Gables Hotel Marine Parade, Dovercourt (1966) FW

The Gables Hotel, Marine Parade, Dovercourt, Essex in 1966.

A privately produced card, sent to a patron of the hotel by staff back in 1966 (yes it really was over 57 years ago !).
The Gables Hotel was located at the junction of Cliff Road and Marine Parade, close to the now demolished Cliff Hotel. Other similar cards as well as a photo of the demolition of the hotel in 1972, give a clear indication of the transformation of the sea front. The hotel has been replaced by residential accommodation, bearing the same name.
Nice to see the postbox and fire hydrant still intact, even if the former looks on the slant ! 
The Postcode for the location is CO12 3RF click here for Google Earth imagery.

~ The Gables Hotel, Marine Parade, Dovercourt Bay ~
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KI01 The Kings Arms Hotel, Main Road Dovercourt (1958) H&D FW

PA01 ‘UHU’ Park Hotel 14 Orwell Terrace (1970-) H&D FW

PH01 The Old Phoenix Hotel, Lower Marine Parade (near the Retreat in 1900) H&D

The Old Phoenix Hotel, Lower Marine Parade, Dovercourt Bay, Essex

The original hotel mainly built of wood in 1867, was close to the Leading Lights and destroyed by fire on the 28th May 1914, probably due to smouldering embers from an earlier fire that day, which reignited to burn the garden shed and eventually engulfing the main building. Fully insured it was later rebuilt in 1917 and fortunately no deaths were recorded. The four views include the original Hotel in 1913, opposite the Lighthouses.
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The second and third show the remains of the Hotel in the light of the morning, note the bench seen in the first two photos looks untouched, while the final view in the summer of 1914 was taken from the sea with just the chimney's stacks seen though the lighthouse legs.

~ The Old Phoenix Hotel, Lower Marine Parade, Dovercourt Bay ~
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PH07 The New Phoenix Hotel & Reflections Night Club, Dovercourt Bay, Essex II (2003) H&D

~ The New Phoenix Hotel, Lower Marine Parade, Dovercourt Bay ~
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RO01 The Royal Oak, Main Road, Dovercourt  (1938) H&D FW

The Royal Oak Public House in 1938, Dovercourt, Harwich, Essex.

This is the closest pub to the football ground and has the ground named after it.
The Royal Oak began trading in 1828 as public house owned by Astons of Manningtree. Later it was bought by Daniell & Sons Ltd, The Truman's house. Unfortunately a fire caused it to be rebuilt by local Builders H.H.Bradford.
The Pub has it's own Facebook page click here
For more information on the pub click here

RO02 The Royal Main Road, Dovercourt (1970) H&D FC

TO01 The Towers, Main Road, Dovercourt  (1910) H&D FW

​TR01 The Trafalgar, Upper Dovercourt (1907) H&D FW

The Trafalgar Public House, Upper Dovercourt, Essex

The "Traf" sits on the site of a 14th century Coaching Inn, sadly burnt down, but used as a pub since 1832.
Its a two room pub that can trace its history back to the 14th century. 
It became an asset of community value on 3rd February 2015.
Google Link & Postcode:
  CO12 4LW

​VI01 40878 Victoria Hotel, Victoria Street, Dovercourt (1908) Bells H&D FW

 The Victoria Hotel, 20 Station Road, Dovercourt, Essex (1908) by Bells Publishing

The Victoria Hotel was situated on Victoria Street (off Station Road). Sadly this pub has now been demolished after a fire ravaged the property on the 25th June 2005. Originally Trading from 1861, it was a popular pub with railway workers from Parkeston Quay. The cause of the fire was suspicious, as fireworks were heard igniting, just prior to the blaze, by nearby residents.

~ The Victoria Hotel, Opposite Dovercourt Station, Dovercourt Bay ~
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VI02 Charabanc outside the Queen Victoria Hotel, Dovercourt  (1919) H&D FCW

The Victoria Hotel "Regulars" day-trip out in a beautiful Charabanc from around 1920
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​Day trips were very popular in the early 1920's with the arrival or relatively cheap motorised vehicles.
This Charabanc parked in East St, Dovercourt was a large bus, used for sightseeing tours, especially one with open sides and no centre aisle. We can see it's clearly a "man's world" ​from this postcard !! The Victoria Hotel was sadly demolished after a fire in 2005