The Queens Hotel is a large hotel located on

City Square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Rel ...

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, England. Built in 1937, it is an elegant

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

and was frequented by the likes of

Princess Grace of Monaco Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982), also known as Grace of Monaco, was an American actress and Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Rainier III from their marriage on April 18, 1956, until her death in 1982. ...

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English and American actor. Known for his blended British and American accent, debonair demeanor, lighthearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing, he ...

and

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

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 in rail transport, 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 ...

. 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 London and North Eastern Railway, LNER, Great Western Railway, GWR and Southern Railway (UK), SR. The London, Midland an ...

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, title customarily (but not automatically) awarded by British monarchs to their eldest daughters. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal famil ...

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 geological formation (formally named the Portland Stone Formation) dating to the Tithonian age of the Late Jurassic that is quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. The quarries are cut in beds of whi ...

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"Quiet 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 loca ...

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 The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, also called the FTSE 100 Index, FTSE 100, F ...

. 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 media personality and DJ. He was known for his eccentric image, charitable work, and hosting the BBC shows ''Top of the Pops'' and ''Jim'll Fix It''. A ...

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. Ruby Slipper Ball 2019 at The Queens Hotel Leeds

Ruby Slipper Ball 2019 at The Queens Hotel Leeds

The Ruby Slipper Ball and the All Out Together ball are hosted at the hotel supporting older LGBT+ people in West Yorkshire.

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. The Queens Hotel 1 July 2013

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