The History of the Rodney Hotel

Built in the middle of the eighteenth century, the Rodney Hotel has been a home and haven to many over the years.

Records dating back from 1851 show the house passing through the hands of a number of wealthy households, including Park Row’s long-gone fine art publishers Ernest Wyman Savory.

Previous to this, the building was home to notorious naval officer Admiral Rodney and his daughters. The hotel’s rooms are named after significant battles from the Admiral’s naval career.

From 1921 until 1929, 4 Rodney Place was home to nearly twenty young women from across the globe during its incarnation as Miss Emily Wilson’s Ladies School. Imagine the midnight feasts and shared secrets imprinted into the walls…

It remained a Ladies School until 1931 when it was converted into the Rodney Residential Hotel by night porter and proprietor F Mellor – a conversion approved by the Bristol Sanitary Commission in October 1931. Some might say Autumn is a strange time to open a hotel, but maybe he was just trying to pre-empt a Christmas rush?

An advert in the Western Daily Press from 1935 boasts Rodney Residential Hotel, Clifton Down Road, phone 35422. Hot and cold and gas or electric fires in all bedrooms. Bed and Breakfast 6s 6d. Board residence. Terms moderate. No 18 bus passes door.

It has been a much-loved hotel ever since – although the conditions have changed with no more shared bathrooms! Plus, while the no.18 bus is nowhere to be seen, the frequent and convenient no.8 does indeed stop right outside.