
The photograph above dates from 1876 according to John Oxley Library. The date in the lower right corner is 1854, which probably indicates the date of the construction of the hotel in this form. By the time this photograph was made a second storey had been added, the property was owned by the Church of England and the licensee was William Ruddle. Ruddle purchased the property from the church in 1885, and engaged prominent architect FDG Stanley to carry out some renovations. Stanley removed and replaced the roof, extended the hotel along the Brunswick St side, constructed a cellar, and added some verandahs around the building. The hotel would remain like this through to the 1960s, and the photograph below was taken in 1939, in which the hotel looks quite prosperous.

In 1901, Robin Dods was engaged by Ruddle to design the gabled two-storey building next door on Brunswick St known as Ruddle's Building, and that also remains today.

Further changes in ownership have followed over the years, and this has also meant more changes to the structure itself. In the sixties, the verandahs were removed (it seemed to be a common theme of that decade - perhaps to do with the introduction of commercial air-conditioning?). My recent photo (above) shows the old girl today. Part of the Valley's thriving night life, it has an outdoor bar area in the Brunswick St Mall which seems to attract a lot of back-packers. Unfortunately though, it doesn't retain the ambiance of yesteryear.
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tff
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William Ruddle was my great great uncle and just having commenced research on family am most impressed with his business dealings. Nice to know that buildings in his name still survive.
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