History of the Tontine Hotel

The Tontine Hotel

The history of the Tontine Hotel goes back to the time when railways were beyond the dreams of imagination. and steam craft little more than thought of, for it was in the days of the stagecoach that the building that was later to become the Tontine Hotel came into existence.

What is now the Tontine's Adam Room, as part of the original mansion

It was built as a family residence by Mr George Robertson about the year 1805, the year of the Battle of Trafalgar, and is one of the oldest family mansions in Greenock. 

Robertson's mansion, at that point the most westerly house in Greenock

The site was formerly occupied by a windmill for grinding corn – believed to be the first mill of the kind constructed in Greenock. The house stood within its own beautiful grounds, extending over a large area.

An advertisement for the hotel, when owned by Mrs Buchanan

After the death of Mr. Robertson in 1828, the house was occupied by his son, and subsequently by other well-known Greenock gentlemen. In the year 1892 it was acquired by Mrs. Buchanan for the purpose of a hotel and proved exceedingly popular from its inauguration.

A double wedding (two sisters) at the Tontine Hotel, 1956

Further owners of the hotel include John and William Service, who acquired the hotel in April 1907. They were well known in the town for many years as high-class caterers.

New Year's Day luncheon menu, 1 January 1964

In 1971, the famous Scott shipbuilding family took over. They added a new bedroom wing (the present day standard rooms).

Tontine staff

Mrs. Joan Cuthbert ran the hotel from 1986 until 2002 and added a further two floors to the new wing.

Lounge Bar of the Tontine Hotel, 1974

Since this time, it has been owned by the Nelis family, and it remains a family run business to this day.

What is a 'Tontine'?

Renfrewshire Hunt at the Tontine Hotel

A tontine is an investment scheme for raising capital, devised in the 17th century and relatively widespread in the 18th and 19th. The basic concept is simple: each investor pays a sum into the tontine. The funds are invested, and each investor receives dividends. As each investor dies, his or her share is divided amongst the surviving investors. This process continues until only one investor survives.

Wedding at the Tontine Hotel, 26 April 1919

Originally, the last surviving subscriber received only the dividends: the capital reverted to the state upon his or her death and was used to fund public works projects, which often contained the word “tontine” in their name. In a later variation, the capital would devolve upon the last survivor, effectively dissolving the trust, and it is this version that has often been the plot device for mysteries and detective stories.

The Architecture

Old postcard showing the Tontine Hotel

The building has some resemblance to the Mansion House of Ardgowan. The architect who designed it is unknown, but the general design and interior plaster work of the hotel appears to form an interesting and valuable specimen of the style of the world-famous Adam brothers.

Old postcard showing the Tontine Hotel

Owing to the deaths of the Adam brothers about 1790 to 1800 the work cannot be directly ascribed to them – but the details of the cornices and other interior decorations are so good and pure in the Adam style that there is a great probability of the ornaments being made out of moulds designed by them, and the work carried out by one of their pupils, probably George Richardson.