Duke of Bedford Inn
38 Donkin Street cnr Hope
Bedford
GPS:
Tel: (078) 511-9689 Fax: (086) 636-1954
NEW LOOK HOTEL: The Duke of Bedford Inn shortly after the opening in 2014.
UNDER RESTORATION: One of the old houses in Hope Street shortly after restoration began.
BEFORE: The back of the houses facing into the Duke of Bedford Inn's courtyard during reconstruction.
ORIGINAL CONDITION: The front facade of a house in Hope Street before restoration.
PAPERING THE WALL: Workmen apply wall-paper in one of the newly refurbished bedrooms in the Duke of Bedford Inn.
CHARMING BEDROOM: Two single beds are available in this newly refurbished bedroom in the Duke of Bedford Inn.
STYLISH ROOM: Abigail White, manageress of the Duke of Bedfrod Inn, admires one of the newly refurbished bedrooms.
THE VERANDAH: A lovely view of Donkin Street from the verandah, while still under construction.
PERIOD BATHROOM: All the batrooms have been fitted with new, period-style fittings.
DINING ROOM: The new, tastefully furnished dining room on the ground floor.
CLASSY BAR: The new bar is on the ground floor.
CHEEKY PEEK: Visitors to the annual Bedford Garden Festival enjoy a relaxing moment in the Duke of Bedford Inn's bar.
HISTORIC BEDFORD: A view of Donkin Street. The Bedford Hotel, now the Duke of Bedford Inn, is the first building on the right hand side behind the trees.
ROBERTSON'S BEDFORD HOTEL: A turn of the century photograph of the hotel shows a number of differences in the design of the outside facade.
REVEALING CHANGES: A number of differences can be seen when comparing the various photos. The window on the left of the building was originally a door. At some stage the door was removed and the window inserted. At some stage an attempt was made to create a new door. In the current photo below it can be seen the new doorway was built close to where the original doorway was. Two new windows were inserted into the wall to the right of the doorway on the upstairs and downstairs where originally there were no windows. The wrap-around verandah overlooking Hope Street no longer exists, only on the Donkin Street facade.
AFTER RESTORATION: The same Hope Street house after restoration.
FOR SALE AGAIN: The Bedford Hotel had been renovated to some degree before it went up for sale again in 2010. By this stage the balcony and trees had long since been removed. Photo: Google Earth.
Google Earth: An image taken by Google Earth in November, 2010 showing the front of the hotel,FNB Bank, and what the back garden looked like before being landscaped.
HOPE STREET HOUSES: A view of Hope Street before renovations to any of the houses. Photo: Google Earth.
RUN DOWN BUILDING: The Bedford Hotel was in a totally run-down condition when bought by Katherine Trollip on October 21, 2006. By this stage the balcony and trees had long since been removed.