![\"Fire](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0_The-former-Hotel-California-in-Birkenhead-fire-scene-Photo-by-Colin-Lane.jpg\")
Fire crew at the former Hotel California(Image: Colin Lane\/Liverpool Echo)<\/p>\nThe building, once home to Hotel California, has been hit by a number of blazesFire crew at the former Hotel California(Image: Colin Lane\/Liverpool Echo)<\/p>\n
A fire hit a former music venue and pub<\/a> once again this afternoon. The old Hotel California on New Chester Road in Birkenhead<\/a> was renowned for its live music<\/a> and DJ sets before it closed in 2018.<\/p>\n It has been a Wirral landmark for many motorists over the years, as they pass the building while going to or leaving Liverpool via the Birkenhead Tunnel.<\/a> This afternoon, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service<\/a> were alerted to a fire at 3.51pm and were on the scene eight minutes later.<\/p>\n The crew arrived to find a hotel with a small fire in the ceiling of the ground floor. Firefighters used an extended high pressure hose reel jet to extinguish the fire and then remained on scene to dampen down the area.<\/p>\n By 3.40pm, the fire was fully extinguished and the fire crew left shortly afterwards. Pictures taken by the ECHO<\/a> at the scene show that most of the roof is gone and nearly all of the windows have been smashed.<\/p>\n The site dates back to the 1870s and was previously known as the Royal Castle pub and hotel, famous for entertaining workers from Cammell Laird<\/a> shipyard, which is situated across the road.<\/p>\n The building has been hit by fires several times since it closed its doors. In January of this year, a fire was put out on the site, believed to have been started from a quantity of rubbish on the ground floor. It was also damaged by a deliberate fire in 2019.<\/p>\n In 2021, Luke Edwards-Meredith appeared in court over the fire and was given eight months’ detention, suspended for two years, with a 25-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement and 100 hours of unpaid work for causing the fire at the site and another blaze at a former barber;s shop on Clifton Crescent, just minutes away.<\/p>\n Pictures taken by an urban explorer in 2021 <\/a>showed graffiti covering the decaying interior walls and a thick layer of concrete dust laid on the old stage area.<\/p>\n The roof was caved in, leaving large parts exposed to the elements with wallpaper peeling from the ceilings. While you could still make out the former bar area, it was completely beyond repair with crumbling shelves and brickwork.<\/p>\n Former manager Katie Sutton previously told the ECHO: \u201cIt\u2019s got to be the most well-known pub on the Wirral<\/a> over the past 150 years or so and in a national and worldwide sense due to the many nationalities working in the shipyard opposite.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s so much history here, when you think about where it is by Cammell Laird. All the people coming out of the shipyard knew this place.\u201d<\/p>\n The spirit of the Hotel California lived on when the team moved to a new venue called Molly\u2019s Chambers Bar and Kitchen on Bridge Street.<\/p>\n For the latest news and breaking news visit liverpoolecho.co.uk\/news<\/a>. Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you by signing up to our daily and breaking newsletter<\/a>. Sign up to our breaking news newsletter here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Follow us on X<\/a> @LivECHONews<\/a> or on Bluesky @liverpoolecho.co.uk<\/a> – official Liverpool ECHO accounts – real news in real time. We’re also on Facebook\/theliverpoolecho<\/a> – your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day from the Liverpool ECHO.<\/p>\n