The tallest chandelier in Europe, measuring an impressive 36ft, has been installed at a four-star hotel in Kent.
The 11-metre ornament, which features 25,000 individual lead crystals took over six months to create and is now the crowning glory of a seaside hotel.
Installed during a £9 million refurbishment, the chandelier required more than 2,000kg of structural steel to support it from the atrium ceiling at the Hythe Imperial Hotel, in Kent.
Europe’s tallest chandelier – at 36ft – and with 25,000 individual lead crystals has been installed at a hotel in Kent. The installation required 2,000kg of structural steel to support it from the atrium ceiling at the Hythe Imperial Hotel, in Kent
Nonetheless, hotel management hope the chandelier never suffers the same fate as the one in the famous episode of Only Fools and Horses, where Del Boy and Rodney Trotter exaggerated their cleaning abilities only to shatter a priceless piece.
Manufacturers Wilkinson Ltd, which has held the Royal Warrant to Her Majesty The Queen as glass restorers since 1985, say the masterpiece is easily the biggest in Europe.
Owner David Wilkinson said: ‘It is certainly the tallest chandelier we have manufactured and the tallest in the UK, and we cannot find any records of anything taller having been installed anywhere in Europe.
‘Installing something of that size in a busy hotel certainly presents challenges and took a great deal of planning, but the work went pretty much to plan and the end result is something quite spectacular.’
Manufacturers Wilkinson Ltd, which has held the Royal Warrant to Her Majesty The Queen as glass restorers since 1985, say the masterpiece is easily the biggest in Europe – and weighs more than a tiger
The grand unveiling, which took place last month, came towards the end of the hotel’s extensive work which saw all four floors completely refurbished
Nick Gauntlett, executive director at the Hythe Imperial, said: ‘Our new chandelier is a real centrepiece at the heart of the hotel. The craftsmanship and attention to detail paid by the team at Wilkinson really shines through and it will be a talking point for guests of the hotel for many years to come.’
Mr Gauntlett hopes, however, that his chandelier never suffers the same fate as the one in the famous episode of Only Fools and Horses, where Del Boy and Rodney Trotter exaggerated their cleaning abilities only to shatter a priceless piece
The grand unveiling, which took place last month, came towards the end of the hotel’s extensive work which saw all four floors completely refurbished.
Nick Gauntlett, executive director at the Hythe Imperial, said: ‘Our new chandelier is a real centrepiece at the heart of the hotel.
‘The craftsmanship and attention to detail paid by the team at Wilkinson really shines through and it will be a talking point for guests of the hotel for many years to come.’