Described at the time as “the most picturesque survival of eighteenth century Keighley”.
The Fleece Hotel – formerly the Golden Fleece – in Low Street was demolished in 1934 to make way for a new Marks & Spencer ‘super store’, which opened the following March.
This hostelry had been a recurring name in the town’s local history. In the 1820s, it had served as a meeting place for a woolcombers’ club (an early form of trade union).
During the coaching era, travellers had set out from the Fleece aboard the Royal Alexander for Leeds, the Tradesman for Bradford or the Wonder for Halifax.
After its demolition, one of its interior doors, symbolic of its many uses, was found to have had, at different times over the years, no less than eight keyholes.
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