Sir Harry Preston of Brighton

Leaves From An Unwritten Diary, the life and times of Sir Harry Preston

1902: W.G. Grace Motorcar Ride

In September 1902, WG Grace the famous cricketer takes his first ride in a motor car courtesy of Harry Preston.

Sat in the bar of the Bournemouth Grand Hotel the night before, Harry tells WG he’ll be ‘motoring’ over to Brighton the next day, leaving at noon.

“Oh yes, didn’t I tell you? I have a four-cylinder De Dion-Bouton in which I travel between here and Brighton. It’s a wonderful thing.”

Harry Preston gives WG Grace, the famous cricketer, his first ride in a motor car (September 1902)
Harry gives WG Grace, the famous cricketer, his first ride in a motor car (September 1902)

WG had never travelled in a motor car before and asked Harry for a lift. He was playing the next day but promised he’d be ready in time.

“You have my word, Harry, that I will be seated in your Gideon Mutton or whatever it’s called ready to depart for Brighton no later than noon tomorrow.”

True to his word, shortly after he stepped in to bat, WG was uncharacteristically bowled out early, and was seated next to Harry in time for the 4 hour, 100-mile drive to Brighton.

*Quotes taken from Gilbert: The Last Years of WG Grace

c1901: Royal York Hotel, Brighton

Arriving in Brighton around 1901 Harry took over the dilapidated Royal York Hotel in the Old Steine. Once the haunt of royalty and well-known figures such as Benjamin Disraeli and Charles Dickens, it was now a ruin that had to be rebuilt from the bottom up, taking every penny he possessed. The result was an overdraft of £3,000, a tidy sum in those days.

At the turn of the century, when Harry arrived, Brighton was in decline. It was no longer seen as ‘London by the Sea’ as it once had been in Regency times. A derogatory front-page article published in the Daily Mail saying the town was an “unenterprising, unattractive and outdated holiday resort” didn’t help in its image. The article infuriated Harry and caused him to take action. He travelled to London and insisted on seeing the newspaper editor, Kennedy Jones. Harry politely convinced him of the error of his ways and a far more favourable review was published in the paper two days later.

The more flattering newspaper article and newly refurbed Royal York signalled a turning point for both Harry and Brighton. The hotel went on to attract the rich and famous including the Prince of Wales, Lloyd George (Chancellor and later Prime Minister) and world speed record holder Sir Malcolm Campbell, together with a host of stars from the entertainment world and the newly established class of “celebrity”.

In 1929, following Harry’s retirement, the hotel was converted into council offices known as Royal York Buildings. In 2003 the council vacated the building and in 2006 it was converted back to hotel use while also gaining a Grade II listed consent. 

c1900: Princes Hotel, London

Keeping a foot in London, Harry becomes a director on the board of the Princes Hotel in London and was instrumental in turning around the fortunes of the hotel. By introducing the short theatre dinner, over the more formal table d’hôte menu, the Princes restaurant became a popular destination for pre-theatre goers. Its ballrooms also became the scene of many of the dances organised in London’s theaterland.

c1898: Grand Hotel, Bournemouth

Around 1898 Harry becomes part-owner of the Grand Hotel, Bournemouth, in partnership with William Dore. Between them, they ran both the Central and the Grand hotels in Bournemouth.

The hotel became a favourite of stars and celebrities. Among them was Guglielmo Marconi, ‘the father of wireless’ and pioneer of the radio, who carried out his experiments with wireless telegraphy on Sandbanks at Poole Harbour. He became a friend of Harry’s, later bringing his yacht to Brighton to visit him.

WG Grace, the greatest cricketer of them all, also stayed at the hotel and would later take his first motorcar ride in Harry’s car!