MARINA BAY | ISLE OF MAN
A GOOGLE MAPS VIEW OF THE OLD MARINA HOTEL ON LOCH PROMENADE
MARINA BAY | ISLE OF MAN
MARINA BAY's NEWLY APPROVED DESIGN & BUILDING PLANS
LOCATION PLAN
01/18
MARINA BAY | ISLE OF MAN
THE HISTORY OF Marina Bay
Loch Promenade (formerly Sand Street) was completed in 1876, by which time its 1.5 mile beach was drawing huge crowds to Douglas during holiday seasons. In September 1879, Mr. Edmund Chadwick, a Douglas builder and future Mayor, purchased his first parcel of land from local hoteliers Mr. Samuel Horatio Marsden and his wife, who had already successfully launched their own neighbouring Granville Hotel.
The agreed upon price for this 34’ 8” plot fronting Loch Promenade was £275.00. Covenants, however, restricted Mr. Chadwick from selling any spirits or malt liquor, or from any building being used or occupied as an “Inn Hotel”, “Public House”, “Shop Warehouse” or “Manufactory” – all as determined by the Douglas Town Commissioners.
By 1880, a new boarding house had been constructed at 47 Loch Promenade and renamed from its original “Marina Boarding House” to “The Beach House”. Mrs. W.H. Warde had no doubt acquired necessary permission to welcome her first guests for the summer months, including Mrs. Mattock from Devonshire, Mr. Dale from Liverpool, Mrs. and Miss Hopkins from Kidderminster and Mr. and Mrs. Blaby from Woolton.
The property was regularly advertised in the Manx Sun and visitor logs show additional visitors from London and Nottingham and many more from Liverpool (including Mr. And Mrs. Turnbull, along with their children and nurse). And by 1891, according to the census that year and the Isle of Man Times, Mr. William Burgess and his English family and a young local servant, Agnes Goodwin, were all busy running the boarding house under its new more formal name of “Ardwick House”.
The 1890s and 1900s showed Victorian summer holidays continuing to flourish, and Ardwick House, with its four sitting rooms and 23 bedrooms was now commanding a daily rate of 5 shillings and sixpence for gents, but only 5 shillings for ladies. (This is addition to the changes in the House of Keys' Election Act of 1881, making the Isle of Man the first national parliament in the world to grant women the right to vote in a general election).
In 1908, upon the death of William Burgess, his wife Sarah sold the property to Mayor Joseph Sharpe. And by 1911, this building had yet another name change to “Boardman’s Private Hotel” and subsequently “The Marina Hotel”. It remained active through two world wars, having accommodated many male internees during World II, and continued to host countless holiday makers until the late 1990s when it too had become old and tired.
Although many stories have been shared, including those from the Isle of Man Gramophone Society who would meet regularly at the Marina Hotel in the 1950s, it is clearly time to bring renewed life to this “Grand Dame”. As such, it has now been approved for 9 brand new luxury apartments and every effort has been made to preserve its views, conserve its façade and protect its history. However, not without one final name change. Welcome to “Marina Bay”!
MARINA BAY | ISLE OF MAN
A VIDEO HISTORY OF LOCH PROMENADE
MARINA BAY | ISLE OF MAN
Contact Us
For more information or to schedule a site visit, please contact:
- Black Grace Cowley - Mark Grace 01624 645550 or
- Chrystals - Darrel Tinnion 07624 301185 or
- DeanWood - Jimmy McWhinney 01624 611007 #3
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