Tag Archives: Ryde

An Art Deco hotel in Ryde on the Isle of Wight

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WE PARKED OUR CAR in Ryde on the Isle of Wight. I noticed that we had stopped outside a building that looked as if it had been transported from Marine Drive in Bombay to the Isle of Wight. Like many of the buildings that line Marine Drive, this one in Ryde is a beautiful example of the Art Deco architectural style, which became popular in the 1930s.

The former Royal York Hotel

The building in Ryde was constructed as the former Royal York Hotel. Completed in 1938, it was designed by JB Harrison and HP Gilkes.

When the hotel was opened, Ryde had become a popular destination for ’high society‘ holidaymakers. The then state-of-the-art hotel would have been in high demand. Partly because of the increasing ease of foreign travel, the hotel’s customers gradually decreased in number. So, in 2006, the hotel closed forever, and remained disused and looking dejected.

When we saw it in October 2023, there was scaffolding on the edifice and evidence that work was being carried out. I have read that there are plans to work on the building to create residential flats as well as a new hotel within it. Let us hope that this splendid example of Art Deco architecture will be preserved.

It’s saucy, but not ketchup or tartare at the Codfather

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‘THE CODFATHER’ IS A NAME shared by many fish and chips shops in England. There is one such establishment opposite the railway station at Ryde Esplanade on the Isle of Wight. It is a typical traditional fish and chips place, but with one distinguishing feature.

There is a circular commemorative plaque on its external wall. This was placed to remember when this shop was raided by the police in September 1953. Then, the shop was owned by John Leigh. During the raid, the police confiscated 1087 postcards designed by Donald McGill.

By Donald McGill

McGill (1875-1962), a graphic artist, created over 12000 seaside postcards between 1904 and his death. Almost all of them had humorous pictures on them. They were prints made from his colour-washed drawings. Some of them were classed as “saucy”, which means they depicted scenes with typically British sexual innuendo.

In 1954, McGill fell foul of the Obscene Publications Act of 1857, and was found guilty. He was fined £50, and had to pay £25 in legal costs. The 1953 raid on John Leigh’s shop was only one of 5 such raids in Ryde. Mr Leigh was the proprietor of what was then ‘The Esplanade Bazaar’, which sold ‘fancy goods’. It would seem that he also stocked saucy postcards, maybe illicitly.

Today, The Codfather occupies Mr Leigh’s shop. Its polite helpful staff served us fish and chips, but seemed not to know much about the raid on their premises seventy years ago.