The Grand Hotel
On the society's doorstep can be found the Grand Hotel. It hit headlines around the world for all the wrong reasons in October 1984 when Margaret Thatcher and many government ministers were staying there during a conference when an IRA bomb demolished much of the hotel.
On a lighter note, the hotel features heavily in The Who's film "Quadrophenia", based in the days when Mods and Rockers invaded the town and had pitch battles on the seafront.
The foundation stone for the hotel was laid in December 1862. The hotel was built on 9 floors using 12,500 cubic feet of York and Portland stone, 3.5 million bricks, 450 tons of wrought and cast iron, 30 miles of flooring, 15 miles of wallpaper and 1.5 acres of glazed tiles.
When the hotel opened in 1864 it cost 2/6 to stay on the top floor and £1/10s on the first floor. If visitors wanted a hot or cold bath that would cost a shilling extra, a fire in the bedroom would add 1/6d to the bill for the night, while a hip bath or night light were 6d. each. In the dining room, a dozen oysters cost a shilling.