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[edit]
Following the closure of the Rugby League Heritage Centre in 2013, rugby league was left without a national museum in the United Kingdom - the country where the sport originated.[1] The contents of the heritage centre were secured by the charity Rugby League Cares with the aid of a £97,200 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.[2]
Rugby League Cares used the grant to organise a touring exhibition "Rugby League Heritage On Tour" which has shown parts of the collection at various venues across the United Kingdom since 2014.[1]
In March 2016 Rugby League Cares announced that Kevin Moore, director of the National Football Museum would lead a feasibility study into establishing a new national museum for rugby league as well providing a home for the Rugby League Hall of Fame.[3][1] The location of the museum was announced in September 2016 as Bradford City Hall, in conjunction with Bradford City Council.[4] However, in 2020, this proposal was dropped, with instead a new plan to incorporate the museum into the disused George Hotel, Huddersfield, where the Rugby Football League was originally founded in 1895.[5]
Opening[edit]
The museum plans to open in August 2020, the 125th anniversary of the formation of the sport.[4]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "Museum plan shows rugby league cares about its rich heritage". Yorkshire Post. 10 March 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
- ^ "George Hotel's Rugby League Heritage Centre memorabilia to go on tour - before heading back to new Huddersfield home". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
- ^ "RL Cares charity plans new national rugby league museum for 2020". BBC Sport. 10 March 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
- ^ a b "Bradford to the home of National Rugby League Museum". Rugby Football League. 20 September 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
- ^ "George Hotel: Birthplace of rugby league set to become sport's national museum". BBC Sport. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2020.