3:00pm Thursday 2nd September 2010
A MARRIED couple celebrated their 53rd anniversary by returning to the hotel where they spent their wedding night...and they got a better price than they did in 1957.
Margaret and Derrick Belsham wed in Southend on August 31, 1957, and were invited back to the Park Inn Palace Hotel where the management charged them just £2.10.
They paid £2 and ten shillings to stay there 53 years ago, which is about £43 in today’s money.
Mr and Mrs Belsham, who live in Westcliff, even found their original receipt from the Palace Hotel, as it was then known.
The Grade II listed building in Church Road, Southend, has since undergone a major £25million re-furbishment, and reopened earlier this year.
Mr Belsham, 76, said: “We showed the manager of the Palace our receipt, and he was so taken with it he wanted a copy, and asked us to be his guests for our anniversary.
“We’ve been to the restaurant at the hotel since it reopened and have been shown around, but couldn’t wait to stay.
“It’s difficult to remember what it was like before, but it’s very nice and luxurious now.
“I’m a retired superintendent registrar and would love to do weddings in the new function rooms at the hotel, which really are the bees’ knees.”
The happy couple enjoyed dinner, a room for the night and breakfast.
The pair, who have three children and six grandchildrnen, were married at York Road Methodist Church, which no longer exists, and had a reception at the Castle Hotel. They honeymooned in Devon after a night at the Palace.
Mrs Belsham, 74, added: “It was so nice to find our old receipt. I just happened to come across it in some other paperwork.
“The Palace is absolutely fantastic now and has the most amazing views. We had a wonderful time.”
The hotel’s general manager Roderick Smith said: “We bought them flowers, champagne and a card, and even old-fashioned sweets from Mr Simms’ Olde Sweet Shoppe for an extra touch.”
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