After completing the purchase of Rothay Manor in October 1966, Bronwen Nixon and her partners spent the winter months preparing for the opening in March 1967. At that time the hotel had only 5 bedrooms – ‘a tiny hotel with a 1st class restaurant’, a fact that caused the AA some problems as they could not decide whether to classify it as an ‘hotel’ or a ‘restaurant’! After the death of her partner in December 1970, Bronwen continued on her own, with Nigel and Stephen helping in the holidays before they joined the business full time after leaving university. An article by Miles Quest in the Catering Times (24th June, 1971) refers to the ‘labour of love’ entailed in ‘opening a restaurant which served 1st class, freshly cooked meals with unusual dishes – dishes that people found too tiresome to do at home.’ He goes on to say, ‘people came back not just for the food, but for the atmosphere as well. Eating at the Rothay is not like eating at a restaurant - its informality and traditional furnishings give the impression of eating in a private house.’ We hope you will agree that these sentiments are as true today as they were 40 years ago.

Award-winning Afternoon Tea

Something else that hasn’t altered over the years is our reputation for Afternoon Tea. Rothay Manor was awarded 1st prize in the 1979 ‘Make Teatime Special’ competition run by the English Tourist Board and a London tea firm. Described by judges as ‘an almost flawless teatime experience’, the hotel was selected from over 100 tearooms, hotels and restaurants. At that time, the cost was £1 per head so you can appreciate that the price has not gone up in line with inflation! In 1982 it won ‘Best Afternoon Tea in Britain’ Award and its reputation has continued to grow, most recently being highlighted in the Times Saturday Supplement ‘The Knowledge —The Big Eat’ (21/10/06) as one of the best places to have Afternoon Tea.

‘Rothay Manor Special Dinners’, such as the Dickens Dinner pictured here, are still remembered by many. It looked back to how Christmas would have been enjoyed in the time of Charles Dickens; and the Burgundy Dinner, featuring cuisine and wine from that area - in fact some of you still ask about these!

It all started in the early 70s with spring and winter Georgian dinners where staff and guests wore costumes from the period while enjoying a menu that would have been popular around that time. Bronwen wrote a series of articles about the dinners in the Catering Times and in one of them she wrote: ‘As Rothay Manor is an elegant Georgian house it is exciting to gradually decorate and furnish it as I visualise it was when it was built in 1823. There is great pleasure in turning back the clock and I feel the house approves and shares the excitement.’

Guests were given a sheet of illustrations and suggestions for adapting their own clothes to the period, and a ‘pool’ of clothes was also made available. As for the staff - the girls in the dining room each wore a long black dress with a frilly skirt, white lace-trimmed fichu, mobcap and apron (this was worn up until 2000 when it was exchanged for more practical style). The boys wore frilled shirts, black velvet knee-breeches and embroidered waistcoats. Can you spot Nigel and Stephen in the picture below?

Stephen and Anne-Marie receive the Cumbria for Excellence 'Small Hotel of the Year 2006' Award from Eric Robson, chairman of Cumbria Tourism.

In addition to the Afternoon Tea awards already mentioned, Rothay Manor has earned other accolades
over the years:

Consistently featured in the Good Hotel Guide since it began.
Listed in the Good Food Guide for 37 yrs
Egon Ronay listed for many years
'Best Loo in the North West' 1989 (see photo to the left)
Good Hotel Guide Cesar Award 1992
Cumbria Tourist Board Cumbria for Excellence Awards:
2003 Highly Commended (Small Hotel )
2004 Silver Award (Small Hotel)
2005 Silver Award (Small Hotel)
2006 Small Hotel of the Year

Special Interest Holidays have played a large part in the hotel's calendar since the late 80s. They began with music, closely followed by painting, and the choices have increased over the years to the wide variety now available. I have not found any photographs of the early holidays, but if you have some please let me know.

Our Gift Letter Service is very popular for that special treat. Choose from Lunch, Dinner, Afternoon Tea, Accommodation or simply a voucher -in fact whatever you require, we can do a Gift Letter to suit you. Payment can be accepted by Credit Card over the telephone.
Just give us a call on 015394 33605

This is just a very brief look at what has been happening at Rothay Manor over the last 40 years.
I hope to put together a folder containing the articles, clippings, photos and menus that I have used to gather the information you see here. A '40th Anniversary' page on the website with information and pictures is also planned, so keep an eye on it!

Thank you to those of you who have taken the time to tell me about your memories of Rothay Manor. There is still time for those of you who would like to contact me. Give me a call (Sundays & Mondays are best), or drop me a line by post or by e-mail to anne-marie@rothaymanor.co.uk