The George Hotel in
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...
,
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
, England, is a
Grade II
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
listed building famous as the birthplace of
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
football in 1895.
The 60 bed hotel was built in 1851 and closed in January 2013, with the
receivers looking for a new buyer.
The three-star rated George Hotel, which has an
Italianate façade, was designed by William Walker.
The Victorian era hotel was built around 1851.
Birth of Rugby League
It was in the George Hotel, Huddersfield on 29 August 1895 that 21 Lancashire and Yorkshire clubs held a meeting and by a majority of 20 to 1 voted to
secede
Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a polity, political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former republics of ...
from the
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...
to set up their own
Northern Rugby Football Union
Northern may refer to the following:
Geography
* North, a point in direction
* Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe
* Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States
* Northern Province, Sri Lanka
* Northern Range, a ra ...
. In 1922 this became the
Rugby Football League
The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league in England, and until 1995 for the whole British Isles. The name Rugby Football League previously also referred to the main league competition run by the organisati ...
.
Stockport was also accepted into the league via telephone to the hotel.
Memorabilia recalling the meeting can be found throughout the hotel as well as in the Heritage Centre.
British Amateur Rugby League Association
The
British Amateur Rugby League Association
The British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA) is an association for social and recreational rugby league. It works jointly with the Rugby Football League through the RFL Community Board.
History
BARLA was created in 1973 in Huddersfiel ...
(BARLA) was also founded at the George Hotel in 1973.
Rugby League Heritage Centre
The Rugby League Heritage Centre was located in the basement of the George. It was the UK’s only rugby league heritage museum. It was the brainchild of sports presenter
Mike Stephenson
Michael Stephenson (born 27 January 1947) is an English rugby league commentator and former player.
Stephenson was born in Dewsbury, West Riding of Yorkshire. He is commonly known as "Stevo", the nickname that he is known by in rugby league ...
.
The Rugby League Heritage centre was opened on 30 August 2005 by former players
Billy Boston
William John Boston, MBE (born 6 August 1934) is a Welsh former professional rugby league footballer who played as a or . Born in Cardiff, Wales, Boston started his career as a rugby union player before joining Wigan in 1953. He spent the next ...
,
Neil Fox and
Mick Sullivan
Michael Sullivan (12 January 1934 – 5 April 2016), also known by the nickname of "Sully", was an English World Cup winning professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s, and coached in the 1970s. He set the record fo ...
.
Within the centre were displays of memorabilia, including rare jerseys, medals, caps, programmes and photographs. There was also footage played on several plasma screens. The
British Rugby League Hall of Fame
The Rugby League Hall of Fame honours the leading players of the sport of rugby league. It was established by the sport's governing body in the UK, the Rugby Football League, in 1988. Players must have been retired for at least five years to be ...
is now located in the Heritage Centre.
National Rugby League Museum
On 24 June 2020 Rugby League Cares announced a partnership with
Kirklees Council
Kirklees Council is the local authority providing most local government services for the borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council and one of five constituent councils of the West Yorkshire Combined Aut ...
to establish a National Rugby League Museum in the George Hotel.
Filmography
In 2019, The George Hotel was 'set alight' by film crew for the new sky programme ''
Cobra'', a six part series aired on Sky One in 2020.
See also
*
Grade II* listed buildings in Kirklees
There are over 20,000 Grade II* listed buildings in England. This page is a list of these buildings in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire.
List
Notes
...
*
References
External links
{{commonscat
Official George Hotel siteOfficial Rugby League Heritage Centre site360° view of the Founders' Room, George Hotel, Huddersfield
Rugby league in England
Rugby league museums and halls of fame
Sport in Huddersfield
Buildings and structures in Huddersfield
Grade II listed buildings in West Yorkshire
Grade II listed hotels
Tourist attractions in Huddersfield
Sports museums in England
History of rugby league
Hotels in West Yorkshire
Rugby football culture
Defunct museums in England
2005 establishments in England
Museums established in 2005