ABSTRACT
As the number of hotels grew, the opening of such an establishment itself became a major social event, perhaps even more so outside London, in places where less entertainment was available than in the capital. The items selected here treat two very different types of hotels. Birkenhead was a small habitation in the early nineteenth century, linked to Liverpool by a ferry across the river Mersey. In the 1820s, Birkenhead, although initially not populous yet, began to grow through its proximity to Liverpool, a buzzing centre of trade and commerce. Apparently, in or around 1820, a ferry tourism ‘for short pleasure trips’ developed. The article in the Liverpool Mercury describes the large celebratory dinner with nearly 400 gentlemen, which took place in a tent, expressing local pride in a new landmark and its panoramic surroundings.
