We went to London to review three hotels. We came home having discovered that all three had led us back to Northern Ireland.
What started with one unexpected connection became a four day rabbit hole through Belfast people, businesses and stories hiding in London.
Here’s what we found.
THE DERBY LONDON CITY
The Northern Ireland connections here are particularly strong.
Northern Ireland based Edgewater Contracts was the contractor on the transformation of 5–10 Great Tower Street into the new Derby London City.
And when we arrived, we discovered another connection. The hotel’s General Manager, William Hunter, is from Carrickfergus.
OTHERWANDER, DEAN STREET, SOHO
Our second night took us to Otherwander in the heart of Soho, where it wasn’t the hotel itself but its Dean Street address that revealed another Belfast connection.
In the late 1800s, Burroughes & Watts had showrooms at 37 Dean Street while also operating a Belfast branch, later recorded at 15 Pottinger’s Entry.
Its billiard tables can still be found in the Ulster Reform Club in Belfast.
THE CUMBERLAND
Our final night was at The Cumberland at Marble Arch, where the Belfast connection takes us back to the 1960s.
David McCaskey, a Belfast Old Instonian, spent three years as Front Office Manager at The Cumberland Hotel.
There are more Belfast London connections to come. One in particular astounded us!
