The Rugby League Heritage Centre was formerly located in the basement of the George Hotel,

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. It was the first rugby league heritage museum and was significantly influenced by

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

presenter and former

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

international

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 ...

History

Plaque on the George Hotel, Huddersfield (10252321744)

Twenty-one northern 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 ...

at the George Hotel, Huddersfield on August 29, 1895. 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 ...

. The Rugby League Heritage Centre was opened at the George Hotel 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 ...

. The centre featured displays of memorabilia, including rare jerseys, medals, caps, programmes and photographs owned by

. In 2013, the hotel was sold. The sporting charity, Rugby League Cares, was given £97,200 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to secure the collection. The collection was put on tour and in storage until a new location could be arranged. In 2016, plans were announced for a new

National Rugby League Museum The National Rugby League Museum is a planned museum for the sport of Rugby league and is due to open in 2020. The museum will be based in the George Hotel, Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England. Origins Following the closure of the Rugby League Heri ...

, based in nearby

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

, to succeed the Heritage Centre.

References

External links

Gillette Rugby League Heritage Centre
{{coord, 53.6480, -1.7833, type:landmark_region:GB_scale:5000, display=title Rugby league in England Sport in Huddersfield Buildings and structures in Huddersfield Tourist attractions in Huddersfield Sports museums in England History of rugby league Museums established in 2005 Museums in West Yorkshire Rugby league museums and halls of fame Defunct museums in England

History

See also

References

External links