Mount Pleasant

Minster

https://whatpub.com/holiday-inn-express

Above photo 2018.

Now called the "Holiday Inn Express" this was previously called the "Prospect Inn," and this incarnation was built in 1939 and replaced an older pub with the same name. Operating today as a hotel the bar area is only open to residents.

The following information was supplied by Rory Kehoe:- The original pub was replaced in the mid/late 1930s by an art deco "International modern Cunard style" building, designed by the well-known London architect Oliver Hill, at the request of the Ramsgate brewers, Tomson & Wotton. It was modelled on the bridge and two wings of the ship the Queen Elizabeth and incorporated a mast, two funnels and an observation tower.  A sun lounge was added c.1960. The original idea was to attract road customers coming down to/back from the seaside at Ramsgate, in much the same way that the "Roman Galley," and "Chez Laurie" of Herne Bay and the "Duke of Kent" roadhouses did. Opening shortly before WW2, the "Prospect" became very popular with personnel from the nearby RAF Manston and this popularity continued after the war, when various USAF bomber squadrons were based at Manston. When the RAF largely pulled out of Manston in the 1960s, the "Prospect" began to decline and this process continued after Tomson & Wotton was taken over/closed by Whitbread's in 1968. The "Prospect" limped on but closed by the late 1990s and became derelict. Happily, as a Grade II listed building, the "Prospect" was protected when plans were submitted to build a hotel next to it. As a result, the "Prospect" was incorporated into the design and now serves as the reception area and bar/lounge for the "Holiday Inn Express Hotel."

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