Royal Doulton Fine Bone China Centenary Savoy Hotel London Opening 1889 Plate 10.5 Inch, MB592

Lovely Special edition plate number 571/650 commemorating 100 years of the Ultra Luxury Savoy Hotel in London opening in 1889. The photo shows of the Savoy Hotel image on the inside, it has description of this centenary on the back, please see photos.

The plate has never been used it is new and it comes with its original Royal Doulton box. The box itself shows age, but in good condition. "Great collectible piece".

Measurements

Plate diameter 10 1/2”x Height ¾”

Original Royal Doulton Box 11” x 11”

Condition

The plate is new, never been used and in excellent condition.

The Savoy Hotel was the first purpose-built deluxe hotel in Britain, when it opened in 1889, offering the comfort, luxury, and service that Americans visiting London were familiar with back home. Richard D’Oyly Carte, the theatrical impresario who had built The Savoy, stayed in some of the new American hotels as he toured his Opera Company in the United States through the late 1870s and early 1880s, and he saw how these hotels were quick to adopt new technologies. How novel these technologies would surely be in the London hotel market. He himself had already brought one innovation to London, when he built the Savoy Theatre in 1881. The theatre was the first public building in Britain to be completely lit by electric lights since the commercial light bulb had just been patented in the US in 1879. Let there be light! Electricity for both the hotel and the theatre was steam-generated, with water provided by the hotel’s own artesian wells, heated in the huge boiler house under The Savoy. The entire hotel was lit by electricity, and guests were able to turn the lights in their rooms on and off at will. Hot water from the boilers was used for the hotel’s central heating system and provided limitless supplies for the sixty-seven bathrooms. The artesian wells also supplied water for the two hydraulically operated guest lifts to all floors. The lift mechanisms had to be imported from America, as there was no British lift supplier, but with this equipment installed, D’Oyly Carte deliberately omitted to build a main staircase in the hotel. Guests who survived the journey up to their suites, could call room service on the speaking tubes available in every room, and their requests would be brought to them by staff travelling upwards through the hotel in the four staff lifts installed for their use.

Indeed, back of house was in some ways just as luxurious as the front. The kitchens were laid out with the most modern state-of-the-art equipment, and in a huge break with tradition had natural light and ventilation. In 1890 the great chef Auguste Escoffier came to The Savoy as maître-chef, and reorganized the kitchen into stages (stations). This revolutionized the restaurant industry in Britain and is how most large restaurant kitchens are still organized to this day.

The item pictured is the actual item you will receive and is part of the item’s description. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us before you purchase, thank you.