A story from Warrenpoint

From grand hotel to school

In short: The Great Northern Hotel in Warrenpoint stopped being a hotel in 1923 and the building went on to be a boarding school, a day school and a home for elderly men.

The Great Northern Hotel stopped being a hotel in 1923, but the building carried on. Over the years it was a boarding school, a day school and a home for elderly men. One building, and you can follow the whole story of the town in it: from Victorian holidays to classrooms and care.

Go and see it

Look out for the old Great Northern building on your walk through town.

Make a day of it: Hidden gems

Questions people ask

When did the Great Northern Hotel in Warrenpoint close?

It closed as a hotel in 1923.

What happened to the building afterwards?

It became a boarding school, then a day school, and later a home for elderly men.

When: 1923. Sources: Closed as a hotel 1923; later uses as listed. Spotted something we should correct? Let us know.

Then, nearby

Somewhere to eat or drink afterwards, closest first.

Cafés · Warrenpoint

Leafy Greens & Co.

Vegetarian café and deli on Church St, Warrenpoint.

In Warrenpoint30–60 min

Cafés · Warrenpoint

Church Lane Coffee

Coffee shop on Church St, Warrenpoint.

In Warrenpoint30–60 min

Restaurants · Warrenpoint

The Wheelbarrow

Restaurant on Mary St, Warrenpoint.

In Warrenpoint1–2 hours

More stories from Warrenpoint

Story · Warrenpoint

How the train made Warrenpoint a holiday town

From 1849 until 1965 the railway ran right into Warrenpoint, and it changed the place. The railway company didn't just bring people here: it put money into hotels and entertainment so they'd stay. That's a big part of why Warrenpoint became somewhere you came for your holidays, not somewhere you passed through.

Stroll the seafront and picture the trains unloading holidaymakers a few streets away.

Story · Warrenpoint

The grand hotel that went bust in a year

The Beach Hotel opened in March 1885 with fifty rooms, a billiard room, a smoking room, and baths with hot, cold, fresh and salt water. It was a big bet, and it didn't pay off for its owner, Henry Stanley, who went bankrupt the following year. The Great Northern Railway Company bought it, made it bigger and folded it into their seaside holiday business.

Walk the front and look up at the old hotel buildings that line it.

Story · Warrenpoint

The Pavilion: built for tea dances, kept for lessons

In 1906 the Great Northern Railway Company built a Pavilion in its hotel grounds for tea, dancing and a bit of entertainment. When the hotel closed and the Sisters of Mercy took over the property, the Pavilion became a classroom and later a school. Not a bad second life for a dance hall.

Find the old Pavilion in the former hotel grounds.