Queensgate: Riding School

The Riding School was the first building in Huddersfield to be built in the Italianate Palazzo style. It features a tall Central arched entrance with Bas-reliefs of rearing Horses to either side. The building was originally used by the West Yorkshire Yeomanry Cavalry, According to the Huddersfield One website, the Riding School was first opened to the public for entertainment in 1848 when it hosted Batty's Circus, then became the Theatre Royal between 1848 and 1862 at which point it was sold the West Yorkshire Rifle Volunteers for use as a drill hall when they were formed in the 1860s and was used as such until the St Paul's Drill Hall was built on St Paul's Street in 1901.

The building became the Hippodrome Theatre in 1905 to designs by architect W. Cooper, when this happened additional floors were added to the building almost doubling its height. After a serious fire in the 1960s the theatre was converted into a cinema. at some point the entire front elevation of the building was also covered in slate cladding obscuring the original facade, this is probably the reason why this building was not listed along with the later Zetland hotel next-door. More recently the additional floors and cladding have been removed and the structure restored to near original state). since then the building has been Livingstone's bar and most recently Che Bar (2010) now closed as of (2011).

Sources of information:

• The Buildings of Huddersfield, Keith Gibson & Albert Booth, Tempus Publishing 2005)
• http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/HuddersfieldTheatres.htm