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Rowton House

A

Astonian

gone but not forgotten
Rowton House

HI HARLEY
Yes You Are Correct The Rowton House Was In Highgate
Do You Or Anybody Else Know Could Tell Me What Was
The Building Orinanal Was When It Was First Built ,
And What Year Was It Was First BUILT
It Seemed To Be A Massive Building
I Know That It Was Used For Home less People Years Ago
And That It Is An Hotel Now , But What Was The Building
Orinional Built For ,? .
I Do Remember Carlos The Cheff Living In The Tower Block
Next To It , In The Sixties , And John Forgdan The Actor
Whom Played In Cross Roads AlsoLived Around There
We Used To Deliver There Milk FromMidland Counties Dairy
ToThem Every Day , John Always Looked Rough Every Sunday
Morning With An Hang Over From The Saturday Session ,
Best Wishes Astonian , ;;;;;;;;;;;
 
Rowton House, which later became the Highgate Hotel, opened in Birmingham in 1903 to provide cheap but good quality hotel accommodation for approximately 800 single homeless men seeking employment. The hotel was designed by the architect of London's Rowton Houses which were founded by Victorian philanthropist Lord Rowton.
 
the reason I was asking about Rowton house, is that I was told from a reliable source (my Dad)!!! that you could spend the night at Rowton house sleeping on a rope for threepence a night,and in the morning the rope was lowered to wake everybody up!!!!!! He also said that it was sixpence for a bed to sleep in
 
re rwten house

coopbill7.is that were the the saying come from "i could sleep on a line" pete
 
I don't know if its true, but I'd say ya Dad was having you on. I believe they recommended you put the two legs of the bed inside your boots, or they'd be missing when you woke up. :)
 
brummie nick said:
I don't know if its true, but I'd say ya Dad was having you on. I believe they recommended you put the two legs of the bed inside your boots, or they'd be missing when you woke up. :)
Click to expand...
He did tell me that, so there might be some truth about the ROPE
 
Pom thanks for pointing me in the right direction, looks like my Dad was right, never did ask him how he knew about the rope!!!!!
peter
 
There are lists in... The Birmingham Archives...for those that spent nights at the Rowton houses and Highcroft. Those that spent nights at the houses, Were some times workers spending time away from home due to employment. Highcroft i am none to sure about...Cat
 
Rowton House. Part of network of forward looking workers hostels. Ours opened 29 June 1903 by one of Queen Victoria's daughters (I think, get confused with all her offspring). Equiped with dining and recreation rooms together with shops and clean accomodation they were smart and respectable and had strict rules. see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowton_Houses

The 'on the rope' dosshouses were at the opposite end of the spectrum. My Dad told me the last of these in birmingham was on the corner of Bradford Street opp the Digbeth Coach Station that was a 'privatised workhouse' and open until the late 1930's. Think the building susrvived much longer as a toy warehouse perhaps to the 1960's. My Dad found his his brother, one of my uncles, in there once and brought him home.

My uncle had what would now be called a breakdown and went on the spike. He became a tramp and moved between work houses up and down the country and on his return to Birmingham ended up there. Interestingly he became a 'mental patient' at Uffculme before the 2nd world war. When he discharged himself in the 1960s he was sent to Rowton House, which by this time had come down in the world and had become a dumping ground for the less able. He remembered it from the 1930's and thought it would be fine. He found it far too rough and only stayed a couple of weeks.

A few years ago I stayed in the refurbished Rowton House Hotel and was surprised to see how much of the past grandure remained. (Even more if you ask to have a poke round behind the scenes).
 
I have a client in her 90's she is from Brum. The other day when I went to her house, her son had been decorating and had taken the carpet up. She said as I walked in don't look in here its like Rowton House.......it did make me smile.:)
 
I slept there for three nights about 15 years ago after it had become the Chamberlain Hotel, chargng about £23 per night for single B&B - cheapish and not far from the old Coach Station. Quite a good standard and reasonable value, at the time, I thought.
Peter
 
BERNIE
IN The Late 70,S It Became A Hostol For Single Women
And Ran By A Couple Of The Sisters Of The Church ,The Rowton House Was In High Gate For The Homeless Men And DownAndOut , By The Park In Alcester St
 
I hope that someone can help me find the answer to whether my 80 year old Great Grandfather spent his last years in a sort of boarding house / hostel at 30 Hatchett Street Birmingham in 1924.

Although he died in Western Road Hospital in 1924 the home address he gave was 30 Hatchett Street Birmingham. I thought there may be other family members at this address so I looked up the Electrol Rolls and found a list of unrelated mens names in the 1925 rolls which made me think it may be a hostel, but no staff or womens names as servants or helpers mentioned.

How can I find out if this was a mens hostel or just a boarding house for men in declining years or in need? I know there was a methodist church in Hatchett Street and Havergal House, who may have had a mens hostel but I am not really sure what happened to the elderly poor and sick people around 1924, does anyone know?
 
Dear Louisa, Tracing my family tree - I came across a mens home called " The raten House" [similar name - and this was in Mosely Street. Birmingham. AL.
 
I think that was Rowton House. Try a search on this site as this has been mentioned previously and the information may already be here.
 
Could anyone please shed light on "Wroughton House" i have a descendant was told died there in 1921
I believe it was a workhouse, and have been told it may now be "Chamberlain Hotel", could anyone please add any further information
 
Hi brummy10, I've heard of this place; I think it was around the Moseley Street area, just off Deritend. Don't think it was a workhouse; more like a poor man's hostel or something similar. If you put the name into the search box, I'm sure there's something on this site that's been mentioned before.
Happy hunting :):)
 
Rowton House was not a workhouse but did provide shelter and food for down and outs. They did not live there but they could attend in the evening and if they were lucky. could get a bed for the night,

It is now a hotel, The Chamberlain Hotel, and caters, in the main, for commercial travellers and the like.

If you type Rowton House in the search box you will find quite a bit of information.

It is in Alcester Street, Highgate.

Old Boy
 
Terry,

You are probably right. It was the Chamberlain Hotel but it now appears to be the Paragon Hotel.

Old Boy
 
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