Description

WEYMOUTH

SY78SW BOWLEAZE COVEWAY
873-1/3/32 (South side)
28/01/97 Riviera Hotel

II

Hotel. 1937, by L Stewart Smith. Reinforced concrete, using
the Mouchel/Hennebique system, undertaken by Truscon Ltd.
Rendered, asphaltic flat roofs.
PLAN: a symmetrical building with central administration and
amenities block, including large dining room and kitchens
complex with tower flanked by 2 long arcs of bedrooms on 2
storeys; originally this area included the dance floor but a
later (c1960) ballroom has been attached behind the S wing,
and the original entrance has to the W a later small 1-storey
flat-roofed office addition sympathetic to the original
scheme.
EXTERIOR: slender square tower has a recessed panel to each
face, with a 'keystone' above RIVIERA inscribed vertically on
the panel. Below this the reception block has to each side of
wide glazed entrance doors and panels 4 large arched casements
with radial heads, set behind the added small block with 3
steel casements to the front and 2 on the S return. Large
glazed doors give access in the re-entrant on the N side.
To each side is a 2-arched section brought forward from the
continous arcs of bedrooms in 29 bays; of these the outer 11
bays in each case embrace 2 floors, with set-back decorative
'Spanish' balcony railings above the floor slab which is also
recessed. The inner 18 bays have arches at each level, with a
deep continuous spandrel registering the floor slab as a
projecting string course, and simple railings at the upper
level. The plain square dividing piers have a plinth approx 1m
high.
The balcony promenade, stepped slightly at the change in outer
detail, and on a single step at the ground floor, is backed by
a wall with 2- and 3-light steel casements in a complex rhythm
alternating with 6-panel doors with raised mouldings. A
concrete staircase at bay 11 from each end, and external steel
staircases at the outer ends. The rear wall to the arcs is
completely plain, with a simple cornice band.
HISTORICAL NOTE: this building epitomises the austere approach
of the modernists in the immediate pre-war era, and suggests
the designer's acquaintance with contemporary work in Rome and
elsewhere. The dining and dance hall, approx 24m x 12m, had a
clear span, effected by using a 'diagrid' concrete ceiling
structure. The cost was approximately »40,000, including

fittings. The report of 20 February 1937 in the 'Southern
Times', shortly before the hotel was due to be opened, also
refers to a concrete pier '... to be built in the cove.'
The building has a commanding site overlooking the whole of
Weymouth Bay, and, with the exception of the ballroom, retains
the purity of its original conception in the landscape.

Listing NGR: SY7052181935

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Riviera Hotel at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q26428576

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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