The history of The Queens Hotel, Leeds

The Queens Hotel in Leeds is an elegant art deco Grade II listed building, which was constructed in 1937 by architects W.Curtis Green and W.H.Hamlyn for the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS). However, a hotel had already existed on the site for over 70 years: it was August 1858 when plans were drawn up by the Midland Railway Company which led to the opening of the original hotel in 1863. It quickly achieved landmark status and wings were added to it in 1867 and 1898.

The Midland Railway was taken over by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway which opted to pull down the original Queens and build a modern hotel on the same site. The old hotel was closed in August 1935, with the exception of a portion which was set aside so that operations could continue as the hotel was rebuilt. The building was demolished in 1936 to make way for the imposing residence that now stands on the site.

The new Queens Hotel was officially opened by the Princess Royal and Lord Harewood on November 12, 1937 and they were the first two people to sign the hotel register. The building quickly became one of the city's most prominent architectural features. When it first opened, the price for a single room with a bath was 10s 6d and 50s for a two person suite. A servant could also be hired for 14s per day.

The hotel was built out of 50,000 tonnes of materials. These included 2m bricks and 40,000 cubic feet of Portland Stone, while there were also five miles of heating pipes laid. The foundation partly rests on concrete set in the bed of an old goit (or tunnel) which was used to carry water to the nearby mills from the River Aire. This long-disused tunnel proved to be a source of stress for the engineers, who used concrete to fill up the river end of the goit.

The Queens is now a 215 room residence, having been acquired in 2003 by QHotels and given a £10.5m makeover. Other previous owners have included the publically owned British Transport Hotels between 1948 and the early 1980s and latterly the Forte Group hotel and catering company. The most recent developments include the development of the city's first dedicated executive floor ; the QClub floor in early 2010, which is situated at the very top of the hotel and consists of 18 plush and peaceful bedrooms and an executive lounge.

About Author: For more information on the Queens Hotel, Leeds, check out their official website.

Article Source: ArticlesAlley.com