HISTORY-this hotel was originally called ORMERODS ROYAL CASTLE HOTEL and dates back to 1879 . the hotels main custom came from the vast workforce of the cammell lairds shipyard whose main entrance was directly across the road . apart from offering cheap rooms it also boasted a bowling green , 2 billiard tables , a large meeting room and 2 kitchens that provided meals anytime of the day or night to accommodate for the shift patterns of the shipyard , licencing laws would not come into practice until the great war of 1914 , so it was possible to roll into a pub at 6 in the morning and have a pint !
It was said that when the shipyard employed thousands this was the richest pub in birkenhead . when the lunchtime hooter went the workers used to flock to the pub where pre-poured pints would be waiting on the bar , this saved time as some of them would drink upto 4 pints in their lunchtime ! everything was marked up on slates and settled at the end of the working week.
In the late 70s early 80s it was a known hangout for local bikers , rock festivals would regularly be put on for the punters , as the years rolled on it became a venue for rock tribute bands and upcoming bands like dumpys rusty nuts , engine and mad dog .
later on in the 90s it became the HOTEL CALIFORNIA with lots of live bands and rock only duke box ...finally it became REVOLVER which catered for all tastes in rock music , you could walk around the different areas and listen to 5 types of music going on !
On saturday 28th april 2018 the revolver held a staff reunion for both hotel california/revolver ex/employees...bar staff,door staff,djs,management,cleaners and house bands ....this was the last time it would ever open !
THE DERP- i happened to hear off friends who live in the area that this place had shut down , i lived on the wirral upto the mid 80s and was familiar with this big pub opposite the shipyard , being an ex shipbuilder and biker and ex customer i had to get into this place. while visiting a relative in the area...i thought why not pop down the road n check it out ! i already had my urbex gear in the motor along with my fellow explorer/MISSUS and her derping gear , i visited in the daytime and carried out a recce on my own , a police van sailed passed me and gave me a casual glance to which i nodded to them , they carried on by thinking i was site security due to my manner of dress...lol ....after checking the perimeter fence i quickly made my way onto the site and then into the pub itself , i then quickly made my retreat to the mcdonalds across the road to collect my missus and camera equipment and made a speedy re-entry into the premises.
THE PICS-for the pics i used a SIGMA 10-20MM wide angled lens , with this i can stand in a corner and get a whole room in one shot , this lens is also great for getting whole buildings in one frame without having to stand 50 feet away !......enjoy the pics folks !
It was said that when the shipyard employed thousands this was the richest pub in birkenhead . when the lunchtime hooter went the workers used to flock to the pub where pre-poured pints would be waiting on the bar , this saved time as some of them would drink upto 4 pints in their lunchtime ! everything was marked up on slates and settled at the end of the working week.
In the late 70s early 80s it was a known hangout for local bikers , rock festivals would regularly be put on for the punters , as the years rolled on it became a venue for rock tribute bands and upcoming bands like dumpys rusty nuts , engine and mad dog .
later on in the 90s it became the HOTEL CALIFORNIA with lots of live bands and rock only duke box ...finally it became REVOLVER which catered for all tastes in rock music , you could walk around the different areas and listen to 5 types of music going on !
On saturday 28th april 2018 the revolver held a staff reunion for both hotel california/revolver ex/employees...bar staff,door staff,djs,management,cleaners and house bands ....this was the last time it would ever open !
THE DERP- i happened to hear off friends who live in the area that this place had shut down , i lived on the wirral upto the mid 80s and was familiar with this big pub opposite the shipyard , being an ex shipbuilder and biker and ex customer i had to get into this place. while visiting a relative in the area...i thought why not pop down the road n check it out ! i already had my urbex gear in the motor along with my fellow explorer/MISSUS and her derping gear , i visited in the daytime and carried out a recce on my own , a police van sailed passed me and gave me a casual glance to which i nodded to them , they carried on by thinking i was site security due to my manner of dress...lol ....after checking the perimeter fence i quickly made my way onto the site and then into the pub itself , i then quickly made my retreat to the mcdonalds across the road to collect my missus and camera equipment and made a speedy re-entry into the premises.
THE PICS-for the pics i used a SIGMA 10-20MM wide angled lens , with this i can stand in a corner and get a whole room in one shot , this lens is also great for getting whole buildings in one frame without having to stand 50 feet away !......enjoy the pics folks !
