The Empire Hotel

The Empire Hotel in Bath. England was built in 1901 and has been designated as a Grade II listed building
It was designed by the Bath City Architect Major Charles Edward Davis for the hotelier Alfred Holland and built from Bath Stone. It was described by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner as a 'monstrosity and an unbelievable piece of pompous architecture'
The design of the upper stories was intended to suggest that the hotel catered for all classes of people, from those of humble origin as depicted by the 'cottage' through the middle strata of society 'the country house' and the upper echelons as indicated by the 'castle' motifs.
During the Second World War the Admiralty was relocated here in a vain attempt to escape the expected risk of aerial bombardment. During the 'Blitz Of Bath' the cente of town was extensively bombed. Eye witnesses in the corner tower reported looking down on the German bombers as they flew low over the town machine gunning people in the streets.