The Red Motel Sign
We expect this is the most remembered Crossroads sign - which although looks like its made of wood, is actually mainly made of metal - and was bought by Kathleen Hudson for the Crossroads Appreciation Society in 1988.
This sign was the longest lasting running from 1964 to 1981. It often would feature in the opening scene of an episode, and it was also on the drawing of the motel which was pinned on the reception area notice board.
Exteriors and Signs
The original Motel was designed in 1961 and began construction later that year. The complex opened in April 1963.
Crossroads Motel opened in the grounds of the Richardson family home after the death of Charles, husband of Meg and father to Sandy and Jill. A motorway had been built over part of the family land and with the compensation money the new accommodation area was added onto the mansion house. The original motel comprised of only sixteen chalets. These all came with their own garage to park the travellers car.
As with all seirals at that time the majority of the ‘exteriors’ for this period were actually inside the TV studios, as some of the photos we have been able to source show. The outside shots were recorded at Walford Hall in Baschurch, Shropshire.
The Blue Motel Sign
Not as "famous" as the red motel sign, which is strange - as it was seen far more often! This was situated directly outside the motel entrance in the reception set. It arrived in 1968 with the new motel set and was replaced circa 1978 with a slightly updated version which kept the same layout and colours. The new version had mearly only a slightly different typeface. The latter was burned to ashes in 1981.
Pictured left is the original 1968 version.
The rebuilt Motel 1968
Disaster struck the Crossroads Motel when a bomb blew the reception area, kitchen and offices to bits. The WWII bomb had been left undiscovered for nearly 20 years when workmen unearthed it while extending the motel accommodation.
After the rebuilding work was complete the new look Crossroads Motel took on a more traditional style. The modern 1960s fittings and fixtures of the original motel gave way to a more “old fashioned” style in keeping with the Georgian House that the motel was attatched to.
From a Feather to a Crown
The feathered logo was introduced in 1982 but wasn't to last long. It was actually the Golden Valley's logo - slightly adapted - but the TV regulator viewed it as 'advertising the Golden Valley' so a new fictional branding had to be devised. The crown arrived in 1983 and was used as the main motel logo until 1985, but survived as a secondary logo until 1988.
You can find out how the Crown logo used over this period of Crossroads was actually the most ‘Midland’ related of all the logos by reading about it here. The central image of a bear and ragged staff is part of the Warwickshire County Council logo.
Pictured left is the replacement for the feathers, the 1983 crown version.
The Decade of Motel Changes
In 1981 the Crossroads Motel burned to the ground. The old house escaped the inferno, however the 1960s buildings were gutted. This lead to a whole new look for the motel. But it wasn’t to last all that long before more changes were made.
The motel directly after the fire had a new look exterior - however this somehow didn’t look “new” the building seemed far older than a 1981-1982 supposedly rebuilt motel! From now on ATV no longer used in-studio sets for exterior shots, all outdoor scenes were filmed at the real outside location of the Golden Valley Hotel.
Further Changes
In 1985 more rebuilding work took place at the Crossroads Motel. A hotel-style block with internal guest rooms rather than chalets was added to the complex - with a number of the 50 chalets, many dating back to the original 60s building, being demolished to make the motel more ‘hotel-like’. The new accommodation for motel guests would be part of the building, with rooms built above the reception area.
The old reception area was demolished, and the new entrance to Crossroads moved from the East side back to the West side, where the original entrance had been before the fire. In the series interior sets were totally changed to match the change from Golden Valley to Penns Hall Hotel.
From Glam to Olde World
The motel was refurbished, the former crown logo lived on across some internal branding such as menus and badges; but the rebranding brought us a logo which some people believe to look very much like a style used on a famous London department store. It isn’t the same, but the Crossroads Motel was now clearly aiming to be a little more upmarket. In fact from 1985 onwards, a lot of the time people referred to it as the Crossroads Hotel!
This logo remained in use until late 1987, when finally Crossroads became a hotel.
From Kings Oak back to Crossroads
The motel had been rebranded as the Kings Oak Country Hotel in 1988, but in the storyline by 1998 the complex was back to being branded as Crossroads - this time simply Crossroads Hotel.
The new logo was much more corporate - even though the hotel was in the hands of a family - and simply said Crossroads, giving no inital indication what the establishment was. A cross style motif ran along the base and right side of the lettering.
From Corporate to Blackpool Tacky
In late 2002 the hotel was passed on to new owners who ripped out the whole corporate look and feel of the modern Crossroads Hotel and replaced it with what they hoped would look like a glam, glitzy upmarket Laz Vegas hotel. The new look launched in January of 2003.
It didn't quite work, it looked like a bargain basement Blackpool drag club, just short of the novelty shop complete with fake boobs. Once again the building was branded with a sign which simply said Crossroads rather than Crossroads Hotel. The new version was a golden sqiggle with a neon heart - which flashed on and off - in the centre of the second 'O' of Crossroads.
© Crossroads Appreciation Society 1987-2011
