The Kennaway Hotel is more than just a place to stay; it's a landmark with a rich and varied history. Its story is intertwined with the development of local government, community initiatives, and cultural preservation in both Ottery St Mary and East London.
The Old Town Hall in Ottery St Mary: A Foundation
The story begins with the Old Town Hall in Silver Street, Ottery St Mary, Devon, England. This building served as a municipal center and evolved into a cultural hub.
Following significant population growth, largely associated with its status as a market town, a local board was established in Ottery St Mary in 1850. At that time, there was no venue for public meetings in the town: the petty sessions were held in a room at the London Tavern. The local board therefore decided to commission a town hall and finance it by public subscription. The site that they selected was in the ancient market place known as The Flexton. The land was made available by the lord of the manor, Sir John Kennaway, 2nd Baronet, whose seat was at Escot House.
The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of five bays facing onto The Flexton. There were five arched openings with voussoirs on the ground floor and three mullioned and transomed windows on the first floor. It was gabled at both ends and there was a shorter block which projected out to the rear on the east side. At the west end, there was an external staircase leading up to an arched doorway with a hood mould on the first floor; the doorway was flanked by two tall windows with ogee heads and there was an oculus with tracery in the gable above.
Ottery St Mary Town Hall
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In August 1862, shortly after the building opened, the town hall hosted a reception on behalf of the British Archaeological Association, which was presided over by the Justice of the Queen's Bench, Sir John Coleridge. The Ottery St Mary Choral Society held concerts in the building from 1869. The town hall was also used as a drill hall by 25th (Ottery St Mary) Devonshire Rifle Volunteer Corps which evolved to become F Company, 3rd Battalion Exeter and South Devon Volunteers in 1880.
Evolution and Community Use
After the local board was succeeded by an urban district in 1894, the newly-formed council adapted the town hall for its council meetings and established a police station in the building. The building remained the meeting place of the council throughout the first half of the 20th century, but ceased to be the local seat of government when the council moved to Hill House on the opposite side of The Flexton in 1951.
The lord of the manor granted a lease over the building to the town in 1958, on condition that it remained in community use, and the building remained as such for the next 30 years. In 1985, it was converted for use by the town's library.
Following extensive refurbishment works, the Ottery St Mary Heritage Society, which had operated through displays in a hotel since it was founded in 1999, moved into the old town hall.
Kennaway Court in East London: A Different Kind of History
The Kennaway name also appears in East London, South Africa, where Kennaway Court stands as a testament to a different era. Once a hotel, the top floors are now residences. It oozes broken down gentility.
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From the outside, Kennaway Court is a slightly run down and unremarkable building. On the inside, it oozes broken down gentility. Though the lower floors are still reserved for the hotel, the top floors are now residences.
So this is East London - a place of extreme aesthetic disparity that echoes the class and race imbalances evident in the lives of those who live here. It is awkward, thrilling, and discomfiting. I get a slippery anxious feeling in my gut when I see myself flitting around East London in a BMW, retiring in the evenings to Kennaway Court, and looking forward to Thursday when an amaXhosa woman will wash my laundry. I also feel exhilarated by the freedom. Here you go, have a few rand tip. It’s less than a dollar to me. I can eat what I want, buy what I want, do what I want.
The Border squad, staying at the Kennaway hotel, were instructed to eat skinless chicken and pasta. Botha ignored this dietary wisdom, and decided to chow 3 party packs of Red Chilli Fritos. At the first scrum, the front rows had just set, when Rod puked out a fountain of red vomit.
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Sir John Kennaway: The Name Behind the Legacy
The Kennaway name is rooted in history. William enjoyed a stellar career in the East India Company, which he joined in 1771. He was promoted to Captain by the time he was 27 and Major at 36. In 1793, William was despatched as envoy to Nepal to mediate between the Nepalese, Tibetans and Chinese; his facility for languages lead to his nickname “the Orientalist”.
In India, William had become close to Sir John Kennaway (1758-1836), part of an ancient and still strong Devon family. On leave from India in 1784 with his two Anglo-Indian children, William spent a happy month with the Kennaway family at their home, Escot House near Exeter.
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Escot House
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