The last days of a Sunderland hotel which welcomed The Beatles

What a history, what a guest list: That's the Grand Hotel in Sunderland.

It was once a welcoming place for celebrities to stay.

It was ornate, had a spiral staircase and could boast that its guests included Coronation Street star Pat Phoenix, chart sensation Helen Shapiro and movie actor Christopher Lee.

Beautiful rooms but the Grand's popularity waned

The Beatles were guests but sadly, the hotel which once boasted the Georgian room, the Jacobean room, Victoria room, Stuart room, saw its final trading days in the late 1960s.

It closed in January 1969 and was put up for auction in 1971. No bids were forthcoming and it was withdrawn from the auction. 

Bulldozers, scaffolding and an empty shell

Demolition followed in October 1974 and the Echo was there to record those final moments.

We caught images of the scaffolding going up, the remnants of a once-proud era, and the days when the building came down.

What do you remember of the Grand Hotel. Email [email protected] to tell us more