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The Bonham Hotel
Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom · Independent · Accessible Luxury
Sir Thomas Bouch had already paid most of the price for 36 Drumsheugh Gardens when the Tay Bridge fell and his reputation with it. He died before the house was finished, and Helen Scott Fleming, a Dundee widow, paid what was left. John Lessels designed the terrace, John Watherston and Sons built the four houses around 1882, and The Bonham now keeps 49 rooms in numbers 33 to 36.
- 49 rooms
- Opened 1998
- Neighborhood: West End
- Architect: John Lessels
- Interiors: Nigel Howard
About The Bonham Hotel
- Robert Cox of Gorgie took number 34. His family's mill had made glue and gelatine since 1725, and he named a son after Ferdinand de Lesseps, the builder of the Suez Canal.
- From 1939 to 1951 the houses were a private maternity clinic, the children born there still called Bonham Babies, until Edinburgh University bought the place in 1951 for £30,000 and turned it into a student hall.
- John Cox, Robert's uncle, opened the Royal Patent Gymnasium in 1865, including a circular boat propelled by up to 600 seated rowers.
- The 2018 renovation kept the panelling and cornices. Nigel Howard designed the rooms, and Corinne Muir furnished them.
History
John Lessels designed Drumsheugh Gardens for the Walker estate, and John Watherston and Sons built numbers 33 to 36, finished around 1882. Sir Thomas Bouch paid most of the price of number 36 before the Tay Bridge disaster and his death. Helen Scott Fleming completed that purchase. The houses were a maternity clinic from 1939 to 1951, then a University of Edinburgh hall, and the Town House Company bought them in 1997. The hotel opened the following year.
The setting
35 Drumsheugh Gardens, EH3 7RN, in the West End, among the last streets of the Walker estate, near St Mary's Cathedral.
Restaurants and bars
- No.35 at The Bonham — Restaurant · European
Amenities
- Adjoining Library for coffee breaks or drinks reception
- Own car park
- Flat screen TVs and AV equipment in bedrooms
- Free superfast WiFi (maximum bandwidth 100Mb)
Open The Bonham Hotel in the atlas for live weekend rates, photos, and the full folio.
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