History
The Randolph Hotel was built in 1864 by William Wilkinson, an architect who also designed many houses in North Oxford. There was debate about the building's design. John Ruskin favoured Gothic revival like the nearby Martyrs' Memorial. The City Council wanted a classical style since the rest of Beaumont Street was early 19th century Regency. A compromise was attained with a simplified Gothic façade, similar to the Oxford University Museum and the Oxford Union buildings, but in brick.
The hotel was named not after Lord Randolph Churchill, who was connected with Blenheim Palace to the north of Oxford, but because it was near the Randolph Gallery in the new Ashmolean Museum opposite. The gallery was built as a result of a thousand pound gift left by Dr Francis Randolph, a former Principal of St Alban Hall (now part of Merton College), who died in 1796.
The hotel was opened in 1866. Major refurbishments of the hotel were undertaken in 1952, 1978, 1988 and 2000. During the 1952 renovations, an extension was added to the west, designed by J. Hopgood. The building is Grade II listed.
Read more about this topic: Macdonald Randolph Hotel
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