Your Experience at The Cumberland

Join us for a captivating journey through The Cumberland Hotel's storied past and vibrant brand. As you enter this iconic establishment, we'll take you on a mesmerising tour, unveiling the hotel's rich history and stunning interior design elements.

Our venue is a cultural and lifestyle hub, infusing the capital with artistry and elegance. Discover the essence of our unique brand and immerse yourself in the charm of a bygone era, thoughtfully blended with modern flair.

Take advantage of this opportunity to experience the allure of The Cumberland Hotel, where every corner whispers tales of its artistic legacy and timeless charm. To celebrate this occasion, we will have live performances on Saturday from 12 noon to 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. and on Sunday, we will host our Drag Brunch and Motown Memoirs from 6:15 pm.

History

The Cumberland hotel has been operating since 12th December 1933, in which time it has hosted many names of cultural importance, from royalty to musical & sporting superstars, and continues to live up to its legacy to this day.

The Cumberland occupies a large space on the corner of Great Cumberland Place and Oxford Street adjacently and was named after a pub – The Duke of Cumberland (after the son of King George II and named as such due to his scandalous behaviour, which meant he had waves of popularity & unpopularity in certain classes) – which stood in its place prior to being a custom-built hotel in the early 1900s, with all the modern conveniences of the time, including double-glazing, soundproofing, central heating, air conditioning & an en-suite bathroom for each guest room. Boasting over 1000 rooms (1019 to be exact), it remains the 3rd largest hotel in London, just behind Hilton London Metropole & The Royal National Hotel.

The land that The Cumberland Hotel occupies was progressively purchased by the Lyons Estate from 1901, which despite the complicated land deals that ensued, was long before the nearby Strand Palace Hotel was erected in 1909 and was certainly a formidable project for the Lyons Estate to undertake, even without considering the extensive paperwork that was required to acquire the space needed to build the behemoth Cumberland Hotel – which covers about 9,000,000 cubic feet, including what was originally built as a staff annexe, and is still in Clermont Hotel Group’s possession, which I will touch on in further detail later. The Cumberland alone occupies an island site measuring in at 7,000,000sq ft.

The acquisition of this land was so enormous in its complexity that no fewer than 17 insurance companies were involved with the mortgage arrangements for Lyons, including the chocolatiers Cadbury. Building work did not commence until the late 1920’s, partially due to the extension of the Strand Palace Hotel, which Lyons were also a major shareholder of at the time. These plans were largely secretive and in 1931, all shareholders were notified that a new company, Cumberland Hotels Ltd. Would be incorporated and the capital of which would be divided equally between J. Lyons & Co. Ltd. & the Strand Hotel Ltd.

Once Cumberland Hotels Ltd. Registered on 6th November 1931, they raised £750,000 from debenture issues & mortgages, but there was still £200,000 left outstanding to this loan 20 years later, which meant that The Cumberland was the last of the hotels built by Lyons, of course, not helped by the outbreak of World War II in 1939, which also caused many staff shortages as many went off to take part in the war effort.

The land that The Cumberland now occupies and the land in the immediate vicinity is, itself, steeped in history and many artifacts were discovered in the excavation of the site, which not only goes up 8 floors but down a total of 5 floors – 13 altogether. Part of The Cumberland hotel site was at one-time a low-lying land draining into the River Tyburn. The River Tyburn is now since gone, however, during excavations, the waters of a tributary of the Tyburn were discovered at around 35ft below street level. In the bed of the stream were found wood-barrel drains, the iron-shod hooves of oxen & other relic of bygone days, which have not been disclosed in any further research into this matter, unfortunately.

Not only was the River Tyburn nearby and even underneath the hotel land, but very close-by, just 2 minutes' walk from our front doors was the location of the infamous Tyburn Trees, which are mentioned as far back as 1086 in the Domesday Book & used for public executions by hanging – the first of which took place in 1196 and the last took place in 1783. You can see the location of this by just taking a short walk over to the end of Edgware Road, at the crossing, where you will see a bronze floor plaque stating as such.