Historic Mount Royale Hotel in York to close as it is 'no longer viable' - and Georgian buildings will be converted back into houses

The Mount Royale Hotel in the city's historic Mount neighbourhood will now be converted back into homes - its original use in the early 19th century - by its new owners, developers Oakgate Group, who are behind a number of other schemes in York.

It has been a 24-bedroom hotel for over 50 years and is in family ownership, but a recent explosion in the number of budget rooms and alternative options for accommodation in the city has seen it struggled to remain viable.

The Grade II-listed hotel was once two grand townhouses built for Georgian merchants called Daresbury and The Beech House in 1834.

The Oxtoby family bought the first property in 1967 and added its neighbour in 1978.

Stuart Oxtoby said the hotel market in York had 'substantially changed' in recent years due to new building projects aimed at the visitor economy.

In 2020 the family closed their on-site restaurant, Oxo's On The Mount, blaming difficult trading conditions following lockdowns, which had seen a major drop in the number of large group bookings.

One of the villas, The Beech House, has a rather chequered past, as it was previously the residence of a merchant, George Kirlew, who owned slaves and ran sugar estates in Jamaica.

Kirlew retired to York in the 1830s and brought with him a mixed race wife named Ann whom he had met in Jamaica. She was 16 years his junior.

He is thought to have first sailed to Jamaica in 1808, and served in the island militia. He was the attorney of an estate called Prospect, meaning he administered the land on behalf of a landlord living in Britain. Great wealth could be accumulated from such a role, and he spent 31 years on the island. By 1818 he was the proprietor of his own estate.

He married Ann Bruce in 1835, when he was 55, and she appears to have been his first wife. In 1836 he bought The Beech House, which was known for its magnificent gardens.

George died in 1854 from a stroke at the age of 74. His brother John, a grocer, then moved into The Beech House with Ann and his own wife. Ann died aged 78, and bequeathed most of her estate to George's nieces and nephew.