The Queens Hotel is a large hotel located on

City Square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

Leeds, West Yorkshire Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populatio ...

, England. Built in 1937, it is an elegant

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

Grade II

listed building 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 ...

and was frequented by the likes of

Princess Grace of Monaco Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956. Kelly ...

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one o ...

and

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

throughout its history.

History

The first railway hotel on this site was opened in 1863 for the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...

. The Midland Railway was taken over by the

London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally u ...

and in 1935 it was decided to demolish the old building and build a grand new one. This was officially opened on 12 November 1937, by the

Princess Royal Princess Royal is a substantive title, style customarily (but not automatically) awarded by a United Kingdom, British monarch to their eldest daughter. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of th ...

and

Lord Harewood Earl of Harewood (), in the County of York, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. History The title was created in 1812 for Edward Lascelles, 1st Baron Harewood, a wealthy sugar plantation owner and former Member of Parliament for ...

. The architect was W. H. Hamlyn and it was faced in white

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building sto ...

with brick sides and rear. The interior design and Art Deco fittings are by

William Curtis Green William Curtis Green (16 July 1875 – 26 March 1960) was an English architect, designer and barrister"Quite ceremony in Archbishop's Palace", ''The Nottingham Evening Post'', 3 August 1935, p. 8. who was based in London for much of his career. ...

. The building used two million bricks and 40,000 cubic feet of Portland Stone. Prices started at 10s 6d for a single room with bath. Later owners were

British Transport Hotels British Transport Hotels (BTH) was the hotels and catering business of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. Origins of the company Britain's private railway companies pioneered the concept of the railway hotel, initially at locati ...

between 1948 and the early 1980s and the

Forte Group Forte Group plc was a British hotel and restaurant company. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index until it was acquired by Granada in 1996. Its head office was in the London Borough of Camden. ...

. It was acquired in 2003 by QHotels who gave it a £10 million makeover. In 2011, the closed coffin of

Jimmy Savile Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile (; 31 October 1926 – 29 October 2011) was an English DJ, television and radio personality who hosted BBC shows including ''Top of the Pops'' and ''Jim'll Fix It''. During his lifetime, he was well known ...

was displayed in the bar of the hotel, alongside the last cigar he smoked and his two '' This Is Your Life'' books. Around 4,000 people visited to pay tribute. Jimmy Savile's Coffin on display in the Queen's Hotel, Leeds, 8th November 2011

Jimmy Savile's Coffin on display in the Queen's Hotel, Leeds, 8th November 2011

Adjacent features

The hotel is not the only part of this construction. The frontage continues west and round a slight bend into Aire Street with the same arrangement of Portland stone front and brick behind. Immediately next to the hotel is the original main entrance to Leeds Station concourse, originally also Art Deco inside, but now much modernized. Next is Number 1 Aire Street, a block of offices, originally for the railway. The three buildings each have the crest of the LMS Railway. File:The Queens Hotel, Leeds (24th June 2010).jpg, Hotel Main Entrance File:Queens Hotel station and offices 1 July 2018 02.jpg, Station entrance and offices File:Number 1 Aire Street 1 July 2018.jpg, Number 1, Aire Street File:Queens Hotel LMSR 1 July 2018.jpg, LM&SR crest on the hotel

References

External links

Queens Hotel Website
{{coord, 53.7959, -1.5478, type:landmark, display=title Grade II listed buildings in Leeds Hotels in Leeds Grade II listed hotels Art Deco architecture in Leeds Railway hotels in England William Henry Hamlyn buildings

History

Adjacent features

See also

References

External links