About Apollo Guest House
Our guest house has been a part of Hastings since the early 20th century. It’s rich history has helped shape the design and aesthetic of the building in its modern day form. We’re proud to showcase such a historic building for the public to enjoy our fantastic town from. For more information about our property in East Sussex, call us today or enquire below.
Guest House History
We can trace records back to 1932 when a tourist magazine list’s this property as the only Guest House in Cambridge Gardens Hastings. More recently, in 1972 there were twenty Guest Houses in business along this part of Hastings. It was then named The Stapely Guest House, later it was changed to The Regency Guest House and in 1991 it was altered to the Apollo Guest House.
The previous proprietors tell us that the name Regency was chosen because of the landlady’s involvement in the entertainment business and she had worked on several occasions in the Regency Night Club. This was the night club that was owned by the infamous Kray Twins.
When looking at the guest house from the front footpath, you may notice a confusing layout compared to a conventional home. This is due to foundation disruption caused by the construction of our convenient off site car park sometime during the 1960s. As a result, you can see a lack of symmetry in the floor of the property, adding character and a unique aesthetic.
More recently the Priory Meadow Shopping Centre was built on piles and then a two metre in diameter tunnel was drilled under Hastings. This is the new water drainage system we have in Hastings. Many structural engineers have surveyed the building and it is currently being monitored. The general opinion of these qualified people is that the Apollo is built on what is known as Wadhurst clay, and the clay moves similar to the crest of a wave thus causing the building to rise and fall gradually.
Further History
Deeper inspection has revealed that at some time in history the sea covered this area. The new Priory Meadow shopping Centre, only a few hundred metres away was once a harbour.
The rear of the house is approximately six inches out of true. Several rooms and hallways have had another floor built over the original one. This causes considerable extra work for plumbers and electricians; also in a couple of the rooms the floors are not level, however the bed legs are arranged so that the beds are level. The shelves and other furniture are so built to make the room completely out of true this is done purposely to cause an optical illusion and thus cause conversation. Between 1997 – 2001 the house was on the move again; engineers and the insurance company have investigated this. In late 2005 building works was undertaken to rebuild the outer wall at the rear of the house starting at the top and working downwards. It was done this way for safety reasons.
Metal rods were then inserted through the wall attaching the rear to the middle of the house. Since then they have rebuilt most of the rear interior walls and ceilings. The two houses adjacent to the Apollo (no. 26 & 27), you can witness large structural cracks in the windowsills and sidewalls. However, although the engineers are concerned with these houses they are not that worried about this one. The company representing the Apollo made a comment recently and that was “the leaning tower of Pisa leans more than this and that’s still standing”