One of York’s top hotels is to undergo a rebrand, and be renamed after a city hero.
The Principal York will become The Milner York under the changes.
Principal York is now run by Glasgow-based hospitality company RBH, and they are behind the changes.
It is being renamed in honour of William Milner, the foreman of York Station. He died during the infamous Baedeker Raid on York on 29 April 1942.
A plaque in the York Station gives this tribute to Mr Milner: “Station foreman William Milner, a keen member of the LNER first-aid movement, gave his life in an attempt to obtain a box of medical supplies, urgently needed for treating air-raid casualties.
“He entered a blazing building near this site at the height of the attack on 29 April 1942 which caused extensive damage to the station.
“When his body was found, he was still holding the box of first-aid equipment. Mr Milner was posthumously awarded the king’s commendation for gallantry.”
Plans to change the name and signage are now in with City of York Council.
“Due to the lease for the ‘Principal’ Hotel ending in March, the current minor proposals arise from the rebranding of the hotel to become ‘The Milner York’,” planning documents state.
“The current proposals aim to simply replace all current ‘Principal’ signage and branding and replace these with new branded signs.”
The building was opened in 1878 and was called The Royal Station Hotel, and was later known as the Royal York Hotel.
The Principal Hotel Company restored the Grade II listed building to its full glory and renamed it The Principal York in November 2016.
Under the latest plans, the restaurant names will also change. The Chapter Bar will change to The Swollen Gambler, while the Refectory will become Peachey’s Bar & Grill.
The Swollen Gambler is a reference to George Hudson, the ‘railway king’ who put the city on the rail network map, before his swashbuckling financial ways led to his ruin.
According to the official history of the hotel on its website, “William Peachey of the North Eastern Railway designed the hotel as an integral part of the new station and also as the North Eastern Railway Company’s flagship hotel, built to accommodate the aristocracy of the North, as well as the wealthy Yorkshire industrialists.”
RBH is investing £2 million on improvements to the hotel, including the installation of air conditioning in the 155 bedrooms, as well as the rebrand.
You can read and comment on the plans here and here.