Midland Hotel, Derby

The hotel was designed by Francis Thompson for the North Midland Railway and built by Thomas Jackson of Pimlico. It opened in 1841 as the Midland Hotel and Posting House and is today a grade II listed building. On 28 September 1849, Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and the Royal Family stayed overnight in the hotel whilst travelling back from Balmoral Castle to Osborne House. It was originally a separate enterprise until the Midland Railway purchased it in 1860. The Midland Railway was one of the largest railway companies in Britain. It established itself in Derby more comprehensively than any other railway company in any other town. Derby came to be dominated by railway-related buildings, and the Midland became the town's largest employer. Among its ventures were multiple railway hotels, of which Derby was one of the first. linked to the main building by a single-storey block on the Midland Road side. The second building is also in red brick and of a rectangular plan, with a further three storeys of five bays. == Modern Use ==

As of 2020, it was understood that the Midland Hotel would be closed for large parts of the year to house refugees and asylum seekers. In 2022, it was reported that the hotel would be closed to all guests year-round to house asylum seekers, causing some controversy around the use of hotels in the asylum process. In 2025, the Government announced the closure of nine hotels hosting asylum seekers after a Home Office spokesperson stated "We are absolutely committed to ending the use of hotels", but refused to confirm if the Midland Hotel was among them. ==See also==