The History of the Clifton
The Clifton Hotel currently sits at 10-14 Westbourne Place. On the corner of St Paul’s Road and the elegant Westbourne Place, there has been some form of lodging house on that section of Westbourne Place since before 1880.
Due to its fantastic location in the heart of Clifton, there has been significant interest in the area over the centuries. The land on which Westbourne Place is situated is shown as part of the “Eight Acres” property of Francis Adams. Adams was mayor of Bristol 1867-68, a merchant, and was involved in the establishment of Bristol General Hospital and the addition of the Nave to Bristol Cathedral.
The building has also been home to a range of other visitors and guests over the centuries. We also found some other fascinating information in the Bristol Archives. A Will written in 1863, made before the Rev. Fletcher was due to leave for Australia, leaves his entire estate to his wife Mary Dumaresq. There is a prominent family called the Dumaresqs who have links to the Channel Islands and Australia and the uniqueness of the name suggests there might be a link.
The collections of street directories censuses gave some clues to other prominent residents:
Corn Merchant Edward Burgess Hippesley is listed as a resident of 13 Westbourne Place c.1854-76. Provision Merchant Edwin James Manning lived at no.14 during the 1880s.
For over twenty years in the period straddling the turn of the 20th century, 14 Westbourne Place hosted the Nurses Co-operation and Home. The buildings passed through many different hands from then, with a brief stint as a war-time boarding house before 1960 when 11 Westbourne Place became the Clifton Guest House. Since then, the Clifton Guest House expanded into the Clifton Hotel that we know and love today!
