The Sunderland hotel which was built on top of a German air raid site and had a secret surprise underneath
‘There was an unusual find when the foundations were being dug’
The dark days of World War II led to the arrival of one of Sunderland’s best known hotels.
It was in March 1943 that the old Alexandra Hotel was destroyed in a bombing raid.
German forces dropped parachute mines and high-explosive and incendiary bombs in a devastating raid across Sunderland town centre. It began late on the night of March 14 and continued into March 15.
The town suffered immense devastation which included the total destruction of St Thomas' Church and the Empress Hotel on Union Street. But that was not all.
The Alexandra Hotel was among the buildings which was heavily damaged or ruined in the blast. Experts had to make a decision to demolish the building .
The Continental Hotel was the building which replaced it and it opened in 1958 yet there was an unusual find when the foundations were being dug. Dozens of intact bottles of wine had been buried safely beneath the wartime rubble.
The Continental opened with all sorts of great highlights including a basement buffet and snack bar.
It held presentation nights and old time dancing in the 1980s and later changed names to become Gillespies and then Bar 808.
We would love to hear from you if you remember the Continental Hotel and spent quality time there.
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