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The Marine Hotel was
situated at 16 Esplanade. A grade II Listed former hotel of about 1850 that
underwent considerable modification, especially to the ground floor, in
about 1900. The building currently carries the name of 'Edward Court' in the
fanlight over the main front door having previously been the Edward Hotel. A
list of John Groves & Sons pubs has, 'Marine Hotel, later [by 1911] Edward
Hotel'. Writing in about 1881, in a letter, Lille Langtry said 'We got in at
two and went to the Marine Hotel which turned out to be a pot house of the
lowest description in which people shared beds between six and the
proprietor was quite drunk and would not show us our rooms...' The Post
Office directories of 1859 and 1875 list no bank or hotel on the Esplanade
(this section formerly listed as Bellvue) but list 'private hotel, Bank
house'. In other 1851, 1852 and 1855 directories the same occupant George
Voss is listed as boarding-house keeper at 'Bank Buildings'. I suspect the
name is misleading and it never was a bank, particularly as typically a bank
would have its name cast into the stone/brickwork. The Marine Hotel probably
changed its name with the circa 1900 refurbishment. A 1938 hotel
advertisement for a cook requires a reply to a George Kenneth. During WW2
the hotel was requisitioned by the Navy probably for crews of Motor Gun
Boats. A local resident talking about the 1950s tells us that 'the hotel was
owned by a Mr Hanky,The resident association was incorporated in November
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