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Mansion that housed nightclub to become hotel

Nicola Haseler/BBC A large manor house covered in ivy with many rooftop windowsNicola Haseler/BBC
Batchwood Hall was built in 1874 for Edmund Beckett, who co-designed Big Ben's clock

Plans have been granted to turn a Victorian mansion that recently housed a high-profile nightclub into a luxury hotel and restaurant.

Batchwood Hall, in St Albans, was built in 1874 for Edmund Beckett, who co-designed Big Ben's clock and restored St Albans Cathedral.

Club Batchwood launched in the 1980s, drawing huge crowds and stars such as Kanye West.

St Albans City & District Council, which owns the hall, has agreed a 35-year lease with Oakman Group which will invest millions of pounds in refurbishing the building.

Getty Images A photo blurred by flashing disco lights showing a man wearing headphones and a white T-shirt DJ-ing with people in the background at Batchwood HallGetty Images
DJ Matt Jam Lamont played at a Christmas club night at Batchwood

The manor house was also used as a Covid-19 vaccination centre during the pandemic after the nightclub's leaseholders left in 2020.

In 1935, a golf course was built in the grounds and the site has been used as a function hall and wedding venue in the past.

Oakman Group’s plans will turn it into a hotel, wedding and function venue with a bar and a restaurant.

Nicola Haseler/BBC Entrance lobby to a nightclub in a Victorian building, with a purple rug on a tiled floor, black walls and the letters E and B embossed on doorsNicola Haseler/BBC
Most people locally know Batchwood Hall as a nightclub which ran from the 1980s until 2020

The council said it was "positive and proactive" about the application and believed the development would “improve the economic, social and environmental conditions of the district".

The authority said it would support tourism and "the rural economy" as well as helping to "ensure the long-term retention of this Victorian hall".

HVCCG A yellow NHS sign with the words "vaccination centre" in the foreground and a "Batchwood Hall" sign behind it. In the background is an ivy-covered manor houseHVCCG
The hall was used as a vaccination centre during the pandemic

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