Work to start on breathing new life into historic hotel with links to Gandhi

A historic Birmingham hotel where Indian independence campaigner Mahatma Gandhi is believed to have once dined is to be given a new lease of life after Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, today announced a £1.8m investment.

The Victorian-built Murdoch Chambers & Pitman Building in Corporation Street started life in the late 19^th century as a hotel featuring Britain’s first ever vegetarian restaurant which opened to the public in 1896.

But the ornate Grade II* listed building has stood empty and unloved in recent years, apart from a fast-food outlet and mobile phone shop on the ground floor.

That is now set to change following the Mayor’s investment using funding from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).

Developers RPGL and Trigram Properties, are preparing to start work converting and extending the building into a 4* hotel offering 156 luxury rooms and creating around 70 jobs.

The Mayor said: "Buildings like this are a real treasure for our community, they connect us to our history and bring some charm to our streets.

“That’s why I’m passionate about protecting and bringing them back to life by finding creative new ways to use them. It’s a great way to make the most of what they offer and give the local economy a boost.

“What’s great about the Murdoch and Pitman Building is that instead of being turned into something completely new, it’s actually going back to its original purpose as a hotel, a real case of history coming full circle."

The Murdoch Chambers & Pitman Building was originally built in 1896 by J Crouch and E Butler for Dean's Furniture and the Pitman Vegetarian restaurant, named after Sir Isaac Pitman, then vice-president of the Vegetarian Society and creator of Pitman's shorthand.

Within a couple of years, the restaurant had expanded to become the Pitman Vegetarian Hotel and was still open when Gandhi visited the city in the 1930s. Later uses of the buildings included offices and barristers' chambers.

The building features intricate carvings depicting its early uses, showing diners in the vegetarian restaurant and workers at Dean's Furniture offices.

Representing the joint developers, Bill Houle of Trigram Properties Ltd and Mark Holbeche of RPGL commented: “We have spent four years bringing together the best professionals in Birmingham to save this historic listed building and start development of a 4* hotel.

“The completed scheme will provide additional facilities for Birmingham’s growing business and leisure tourism sectors.

“The support of the Mayor and the WMCA is really important in bringing forward developments such as this one in 2025.”

In making the investment, the WMCA said the development will help restore and revitalise the heritage building and its façade and enhance the historic and cultural distinctiveness of this part of Corporation Street which features the Grade I Listed Victoria Law Courts and the Grade II Listed Methodist Central Hall, which has stood empty for nearly 20 years.