New chapter in hotel's story

Published on Tuesday 31 October 2006 11:52

IT was the home of lawyer and philosopher John Wilson and played host to scores of Edinburgh's leading writers in the early 19th century, including Sir Walter Scott.

Now the Christopher North House, at 6 Gloucester Place, has been put on the market, along with a neighbouring townhouse, for offers over 5 million.

Using Christopher North as his pen name for the essays, poems and philosophy, Professor Wilson was one of the best-known personalities in Edinburgh during the early 1800s.

His former home, which is currently being run as a luxury boutique hotel, alongside nearby sister hotel NumberTen Gloucester Place, has been put on the market by its current owner Amadeus Leisure, run by Austrian businesswoman Louise Koch-Leonard.

The A-listed building, in the heart of the New Town, was bought by the Edinburgh-based firm in the mid-1990s, and the NumberTen annex, formerly the Gloucester Hotel, was added three years ago - with a further 16 bedrooms and suites.

Made up of 15 letting bedrooms, a stay at the Christopher North House starts at 98 a night for a double room, with an elegant lounge bar and restaurant.

There is currently an Austrian-style coffee bar in the hotel, called the Mozart Kaffee Haus.

Alistair Letham, director of selling agent Colliers Robert Barry, said a number of hotel operators from Britain and abroad have already been to view the building.

He said: "We have already had a good amount of interest in the hotels, from people who are looking to run them from a business perspective.

"I think the chance to buy two buildings in such a prestigious part of town has been the main draw for people. It is not often that two buildings like this come up for sale.

"It is early days in the market process, but we would expect to get at least 5m for the two buildings.

"The historical aspect of the hotels is a bonus and is an excellent sideline for anyone looking to buy the properties."

A statue of the professor by sculptor John Steele has stood in Princes Street Gardens since he died in 1854.

An imposing portrait of him by Thomas Duncan also hangs in the National Galleries of Scotland.

Ms Koch-Leonard, who has decided to sell the hotel following a family bereavement, said: "It will be hard to leave it - the hotel is such an all-consuming business, but I have very much enjoyed my time working here. I think the history of the building is something that fascinates people - Professor Wilson seemed like such a character

"We often get people coming here just to see where he lived, especially Americans. He was very famous in his day in Edinburgh."

Last year, accounts showed the hotels generated turnover of almost 790,000 - making an annual profit of 482,000.

Life and times of the 'preposterous' professor

CHRISTOPHER NORTH was the pen name of John Wilson, professor of moral philosophy at Edinburgh University from 1820.

Prof Wilson enthused and fascinated audiences in the Capital's literary society and had a wide circle of friends, including the author Sir Walter Scott. His lively personality, combined with his effusive sentimentality, often brimmed over into his writings, which are sometimes described as preposterous.

He started his studies at Glasgow University aged just 12, and moved on to Oxford University before settling in Edinburgh after he lost his fortune to a dishonest uncle.

Before living in Edinburgh, he had an estate in Cumbria, where he became friends with poets Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth.

One of his published volumes was an idealised portrait of the "Ettrick Shepherd", James Hogg.

He lived in Ann Street, Stockbridge, with his wife and four children, before building his home in Gloucester Place in 1825.

He died in 1854.