The first hotel in Lambton opened in 1864 just months after the establishment of the colliery and township. Within a decade another six hotels had opened.

In 1873 Alexander Smith purchased a block of land on the corner of Morehead and Dickson Streets and called for tenders for the erection of a large public house. Construction commenced in January 1874 of a building with a Gothic style front, 60 feet by 25 feet and including a large billiard-room anticipated to be “one of the finest in the district.” The new hotel commenced trading on Saturday 20 June 1874, and the following week on 29 June Mr and Mrs Smith held a celebration to formally christen the hotel the Marquis of Lorne, named after the British nobleman John Douglas Sutherland Campbell who held that title, and later became Governor General of Canada.

In Lambton, other new hotels opened and in 1881 the town reached a peak of 16 hotels operating at the same time. The Marquis of Lorne had many publicans in its early years, two of whom tried to move the license to a different location. Richard Ward attempted a move to Elder St in 1880, and John Quinlivan attempted a move to Robert St Jesmond in 1929, with the licensing authority rejecting the application on both occasions.

In 1930 the hotel had a subtle change in name to the apostrophised Marquis O’ Lorne. Also in 1930, John Baptist Beisler became the licensee, and the Beisler family retained a connection with the hotel until 1979, an impressively long stint spanning 50 years. In 1960 the original hotel was demolished and a new brick building erected at a cost of £67,508. Following renovations in 2007 it was renamed to The Mark Hotel, thus ending decades of misspellings and mispronunciations. With 150 years of trading completed, The Mark Hotel is now one of only three hotels remaining in Lambton.

The article above was first published in the July 2024 edition of The Local.

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Additional Information

See also the entry for the Marquis of Lorne Hotel in my Lambton Hotels page.

SIR JOHN GEORGE EDWARD HENRY CAMPBELL, called by courtesy the Marquis of Lorne, is the eldest son of the Duke of Argyll, and was born at Strafford House, London, in 1845. In February, 1868, he became M.P. for Argyleshire. In the close of the same year he was appointed private secretary to his father, then at the head of the India Office. On the 21st of March, 1871, he married the Princess Louise, the fourth daughter of Her Majesty. In July, 1878, he was appointed Governor-General of, Canada, as successor to Lord Dufferin, who had held that post since 1872.

Queenscliff Sentinel, 10 May 1884.

Newspaper articles

Article Date Event Date	Notes
18 Oct 1873	"The erection of two new buildings had been decided upon previous to the origin of the society, and they are to be commenced immediately. One is the premises of Mr. Lipman, watchmaker, of Newcastle, who is to put up a two-storey building in Grainger street ; and the other is a public-house, at the eastern end of Dixon-street, for Mr. Alexander Smith."
6 Dec 1873	"Mr. Alexander Smith is about to call for tenders for the erection of a large public house."
17 Jan 1874	"New Hostelries. — As a sign of the progress being made in this direction, we may mention that Mr. Alexander Smith is now erecting a large hotel, at the corner of Young and Morehead streets, opposite the Prince of Wales Inn. The building will have a frontage of 25 feet towards Young-street, with a depth of 60 feet in Morehead street, and an additional depth of 60 feet for stables, outhouses, and other purposes. The billiard-room will be one of the finest in the district, and will measure 25 feet by 25 feet. The front of the hotel will be in the Gothic style, and will bear a favourable comparison with any of the hotels for miles round."
27 Jun 1874 20 Jun 1874	"Mr. A. Smith has opened his new public house on Saturday last, under the high-sounding name of 'The Marquis of Lorne.' This house occupies a good stand, on the corner of Dixon-street, near to the Rechabite's Hall, and for accommodation and fittings is superior to any other house in the town. A large room, 23 feet by 29 feet, has been built for billiard purposes, which is furnished with a full-size billiard table and all the requisites for playing the different branches of the game. Mr. Smith has spared no expense to make his house complete."
25 Jun 1874	"Mr. Alexander Smith, one of our enterprising townsmen, has now opened his really commodious premises, under the title of the Marquis of Lorne Hotel."
27 Jun 1874	"During the week the following licenses, have been granted by the Newcastle bench of Magistrates :— For billiards : To Alex. Smith, Marquis of Lorn Inn, Lambton."
27 Jun 1874	Advertisement: "MARQUIS OF LORNE HOTEL, Corner of Dixon-street, Lambton. ALEXANDER SMITH has much pleasure in announcing to his numerous friends and the public generally that he has OPENED his Splendid New House under the above title, where he hopes to meet all his old friends, and to make the acquaintance of hosts of new ones. First-class Liquors always on hand. Travellers will find the accommodation unequalled in the district. The best BILLIARD TABLE out Of Sydney, with all necessary appliances."
1 Jul 1874 29 Jun 1874	"There was a real old Scotch spree on Monday evening (29 June 1874) at the formal christening of the Marquis of Lorn. Mr. and Mrs. Smith invited a number of their friends to be present at the ceremony, and a very jolly night was spent. The Lambton band were present, and played some of their choice dance music, to which the lads and lasses footed it right merrily. After the band was done, the fiddle struck up, and then the jigs and Scotch reels got fits. Dancing and singing was kept up till the small hours of the morning, when the company dispersed. 'And many a one left the Marquis of Lorn, With the foundation for a sore head the morn.'"
2 Jul 1874 1 Jul 1874	"Mr. A. Smith opened his new billiard-room, yesterday, in connection with his new hotel the Marquis of Lorne."
9 Dec 1875 8 Dec 1875	Death of Alexander Smith’s wife.
2 Jun 1876	Licence of Marquis of Lorne transferred from Alexander Smith to J Morris.