A last view of the Market Hotel, Douglas, Isle of Man, 1932-34 (b/w photo)

On the back of this photograph John James Frowde writes, "A last view of the Market Hotel. A very fine and early building. I had often heard, and read, about its staircase, handmade throughout. When the Hotel had been taken down, I got a photo of a section of the celebrated staircase, as it lay among the debris in the cellar; & found it to be of the circular winding variety. I think I have mentioned this in one of the other routes impinging on this one. Early in 1935 Mr Mely [?] mentioned that he had read, or heard, that in days gone by this building was a Church house of the Chaplain of S. Matthew's. (I wonder) All the early Chaplains were Masters of the Grammar School, & lived in the 'house part'. Later, I found this view also contained the chipped out line showing the blocked up doorway of one of the two underground passages Bob Grindley described in his Times article in 1930 q.v. - in matter for storey of the subterranean network in the early Douglas."