Walk into St George’s Square and our most magnificent buildings are covered in scaffolding.

For the pipework is now up at three of the square’s premises including the landmark railway station and George Hotel.

Stonework repairs to the front of Huddersfield Railway Station mean the facade will be covered in scaffolding for some time yet.

One of England’s best loved poets Sir John Betjeman described its magnificent frontage as the most splendid in England and by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner as “one of the best early railway stations in England.”

The Grade I listed building was designed by the architect James Pigott Pritchett and built by the firm of Joseph Kaye in 1846–50. It is one of the very few Grade I stations which are still operational in the country.

George Hotel covered in scaffolding, St George's Square, Huddersfield
George Hotel covered in scaffolding, St George's Square, Huddersfield

This latest outbreak of scaffolding mania in St George’s Square means many of the town’s best-known buildings are covered in the stuff.

The huge edifice of the George Hotel is hidden behind scaffolding which appeared in January while Tite’s, the five-storey Grade II*-listed property, on the corner of Railway Street and St George’s Square is being converted into student apartments.

And work has finally started on the listed King’s Head pub, next to the railway station, where landlord Bruce Travis is hoping to turn the clock back more than 100 years.

The former solicitor said: “It’s a dream I have had since I came here more than 10 years ago and will take around a year to complete.

“The idea is to return it to something like it was in 1895. We don’t know what the bar looked like though.

“The ceiling in the main bar is to have its height restored which means an increase of some six to seven feet.

“In what was the Third Class waiting room, (which has been unused all this time), that ceiling was also false and is to be restored. I am hoping to serve food there at some point in the future.

“I want to put the ceiling back to its original height. I will be using Victorian-style paint when it comes to decoration.”

Bruce has been aided in the project which has been in the planning process for several months by his friend, project manager, Ivan Moorhouse.

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