Harrogate (or Harrogate Spa) is a large, wealthy^[1] spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a popular tourist destination; its spa waters, which contain chalybeate, sulphur and saline, and the RHS Harlow Carr gardens are among the visitor attractions. The town originated in the 17th century, with High Harrogate and Low Harrogate as two separate settlements. It lies close to Knaresborough and is in the Nidd valley.

Harrogate railway station and Harrogate Bus Station in the town centre provide transport connections. Leeds Bradford International Airport is south west of Harrogate. The main road through the town is the A61, connecting Harrogate to Leeds and Ripon. Harrogate is also connected to Wetherby and the A1, by the A661. Harrogate has a population of 158,800.^[2]

History

Prior to the discovery of its naturally iron and sulphur rich water, Harrogate was two minor villages (High Harrogate and Low Harrogate) close to the historic town of Knaresborough. The first mineral spring in Harrogate was discovered in 1571 by William Slingsby, who found that water from the Tewitt Well possessed similar properties to that from the springs of the Belgian town of Spa, which gave its name to spa towns. The medicinal properties of the waters were more widely publicised by one Edmund Deane, whose book, Spadacrene Anglica, or the English Spa Fountain was published in 1626. Following this Harrogate developed considerable fame as a spa town.

Today the site of the Tewitt Well is marked by a dome within the Stray. Other wells can be found in Harrogate's Valley Gardens and the Royal Pump Room museum.

During the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, Harrogate was extremely popular among the English élite and was frequented by nobility from around Europe. Its popularity declined after World War I. During World War II, however, Harrogate's large hotels accommodated government offices that had been evacuated from London. This paved the way for the town's current function as a commercial, conference, and exhibition centre. The town hosted the 1982 Eurovision Song Contest.

In 2007, two metal detectorists found the Harrogate hoard, a 10th century Viking treasure hoard near Harrogate. The hoard contains almost 700 coins and other items from as far away as Afghanistan. The hoard was described by the British Museum as the most important find of its type in Britain for 150 years.^[3]

Geography and Climate

Harrogate is situated on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, with the Vale of York to the East and the upland Yorkshire Dales to the West and Northwest. Covering an altitude of between 100 and 200 metres, Harrogate is considerably higher than many English settlements. Harrogate has an average minimum temperature in January of slightly below 0ºC and an average maximum in July and August of 20ºC.^[4] During Winter, Harrogate receives between 15 and 19 days of lying snow per year. However, on the summits of the nearby hills, up to 90 days of lying snow are recorded annually.

Places of interest

There are many fine examples of building and architecture about the town, including the Royal Hall theatre, a Grade II listed building designed by Frank Matcham. As the only surviving Kursaal in Britain, the Royal Hall is an important national heritage building.^[5] Restoration work was completed in 2007, and the Hall was formally opened on January 22 2008, by The Prince of Wales.^[6]

Harrogate is now one of Europe's largest exhibition and conference centres^[7] including the Harrogate International Centre and has many guest houses, hotels and restaurants catering for the regular influx of visitors. The town also acts, to some extent, as a dormitory town for commuters working in the cities of Leeds and Bradford.^[8][9] Harrogate is very prosperous and as such has some of the highest property prices in England with many £1 million+ properties in the town and surrounding villages.^[10]

Bettys is one of Harrogate's best known landmarks

Harrogate hosts the Great Yorkshire Show annually.

Awards

Harrogate was the winner of the 2003 Britain in Bloom in the category of 'Large Town'. From there it went on to win the European Entente Florale competition in 2004. This reprises its win in the first ever Entente Florale competition in 1977.

In 2005, a Channel 4 TV show listed Harrogate as the UK's 3rd best place to live. In 2006 it came 4th in the same league; the programme claimed that it placed lower due to "a slight dip in exam results", though presenter Phil Spencer noted that it was his personal favourite.^[12]

Sport

Rugby union, football, cricket, ultimate frisbee, water polo and hockey are popular sports in Harrogate played at plenty of schools and local clubs.

Harrogate Town FC situated on Wetherby Road play in the Conference North division and finished 6th in the season. They have a natural, good-natured rivalry with newly promoted Harrogate Railway Athletic F.C., of the Northern Premier League First Division, located at Station View.

Harrogate RUFC is a National 2 division team and based at The County Ground, Claro Road.

Bilton Cricket Club, situated off Bilton Lane provides opportunities for players of all ages to play in Local League Cricket, Bilton Cricket Club have a good natured rivalry with Harrogate Cricket Club with Bilton defeating Harrogate in their last clash at St Georges Road in the Black Sheep Trophy in 2006. Harrogate cricket club is one of the strongest clubs in the Yorkshire league. Until 1995 the town hosted one Yorkshire county game per year at the St George's cricket ground.

Running is also a popular sport at Harrogate Harriers, who run from Harrogate Squash Club on Harlow Hill and at Nidd Valley Road Runners, who share the premises of Harrogate Railway Athletic FC. Members compete in road races, cross-country and fell races or simply run for fun and to keep fit.

Parks and Gardens

Harrogate is a well known inland resort for its parks and gardens. The main park in the town is Valley Gardens, in Low Harrogate. The park covers much of the area originally known as 'Bogs Field', an area where a number of springs were discovered. Valley Gardens has a number of attractions including the Ice Cream Parlour and Children's Play Area with Outdoor Paddling Pool. The Sun Pavilion skirting the northern edge of the park can be privately hired for events such as wedding receptions. A golf course, crazy golf, tennis courts and bowling green can be found towards the western end of the park.

The Stray is an area of open parkland some 200 acres (800,000 m²) in size that runs through the centre of the town. The Harrogate Stray was created in 1778 by an act of Parliament. The act fixed the size of the Stray at , and even now when part of it is removed, due to road expansion etc, it must be replaced elsewhere. During the Victorian period, part of the Stray hosted a racecourse (horses). It was created to link together most of Harrogate's springs in one protected area.

RHS Harlow Carr gardens are a privately owned collection of award winning themed gardens on the outskirts of Harrogate.

Crescent Gardens is a small open area in Central Harrogate. It is surrounded by some of the towns main tourist attractions including the Royal Pump Room, Royal Baths and Royal Hall, as well as the Town Hall. Hall M of the Harrogate International Centre also fronts onto Crescent Gardens.

A number of smaller parks and gardens can be found throughout the town, including Jubilee Gardens and Victoria Gardens on the eastern side of Central Harrogate.

Transport

Harrogate station's platforms and tracks, seen from the pedestrian overbridge.

Buses are every 20 minutes between Harrogate and Ripon, and Harrogate and Leeds on Harrogate and District route 36. The 770 route also runs to Leeds via Wetherby, Boston Spa and Seacroft. There are further services to Leeds Bradford International Airport, Otley, Bradford, Knaresborough and Pateley Bridge, and in April 2008 a new service to York was commenced under the branding Yorkshire Connect

Harrogate is strongly connected to Leeds, in both rail and road transport. This is also evident in the volume of high school students coming from Leeds to Harrogate everyday. The strong transport connection is very important for some of the Harrogate schools, especially Rossett School. Road transport to Leeds is via the A61 (North & Central Leeds), A658 (North West Leeds/Leeds Bradford International Airport) and A661 (for North East Leeds). The A61 also continues northwards to Ripon, while the A658 connects to Bradford after passing through north west Leeds. The A658 also forms the Harrogate Bypass that skirts the South and East of the town, joining the A59 linking York and the A1(M) to the east and Skipton to the west with Harrogate.

Governance

The MP for the Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency is Phil Willis, a Liberal Democrat. He was elected in 1997, ousting the Conservatives who had won the seat at the previous three general elections.^[14]

Education

• Ashville College Ashville College
• Harrogate Grammar School
• Harrogate High School, a specialist Sports College
• Harrogate Ladies College
• Harrogate Tutorial College
• Rossett School
• St. Aidan's C of E High School, a specialist Language and Science College.
• St. John Fisher Catholic High School, a specialist arts and Humanties college.
• St. Aidan's & St. John Fisher Associated Sixth Form, a large sixth form shared across the Protestant and catholic schools.
• Harrogate College, (became part of Leeds Metropolitan University until 1 August 2008, when it transferred to Hull College)^[15]

Areas of Harrogate

Like all large towns, Harrogate has many suburbs. These include;

• Central Harrogate is bounded by 'The Stray' to the south and west, and borders High Harrogate and Duchy to the east and north respectively. It is a district centre for retail with the Victoria Shopping Centre housing a number of major chains. Pedestrianised Cambridge Street and Oxford Street are the main high streets in the town, with Harrogate Theatre on Oxford Street. Parliament Street, Montpellier and James Street offer designer shopping and some of the upmarket department stores. An ODEON cinema can be found on the edge of Central Harrogate, as can an ASDA and Waitrose Supermarket. Marks and Spencer have a large food hall in their department store on Oxford Street. A number of bars and restaurants can be found on Cheltenham Mount and John Street, while the Royal Baths and Parliament Street are the centre of the town's nightlife. The southern end of Central Harrogate is largely comprised of detached houses that have been converted to offices although Harrogate Magistrates Court and Harrogate Central Library can be found on Victoria Avenue. A bowling alley and some upmarket boutiques can be found along the Stray in Central Southern Harrogate, including the highly praised food emporium 'Weetons'.
• Oatlands, is a wealthy suburb in the south of Harrogate. The suburb includes 2 schools, Oatlands Primary School and Oatlands Infant School, and a set of allotments.
• Woodlands, is a large area of the town covering a part of the south east of Harrogate. Neighbouring the districts of Starbeck/Knareborough Road. It is home to Harrogate town football club, Woodlands primary school, Morrisons and Sainsburys supermarkets as well as the Woodlands pub.
• Bilton, is a very large area of Harrogate with many churches, stores and schools situated in Bilton. One of the best areas for schooling, Richard Taylor School, Woodfield and Bilton Grange. The Poet's Corner is known for it's 'poetic' names and expensive housing.
• Jennyfields, is a large, modern area of Harrogate, it has one school, a primary school called Saltergate. The town's main public swimming pool is located on the edge of Jennyfield, as is 'The Academy' Health Club and Gym.
• Duchy, is an affluent area close to central Harrogate where most of the houses are large detached homes or large detached homes converted into apartments. There are several private schools in this area, most notably Harrogate Ladies College. There is also a golf club and open countryside for walks etc.
• Starbeck, is a large suburb to the east of Harrogate. There are several shops along the local High Street, as well as a station with trains to Harrogate onto Leeds, Knaresborough and York. A high frequency bus service links Starbeck to Harrogate and Knaresborough. A number of schools, churches, and convenience stores are situated in starbeck
• Pannal, is to the south of Harrogate, off the A61 road. It retains much of its village character, although is considered a suburb of Harrogate by the majority. A commuter station links it to Harrogate onto York and Knaresborough, and Leeds.
• High Harrogate, is an inner suburb to the east of the town centre. It is focussed on Westmoreland Street and the A59 road, where a number of shops and cafes are located. Expensive terraced houses line The Stray, which stops in High Harrogate.
• Low Harrogate, is an inner suburb to the west of the town centre. It is traditionally the focus of most the tourist activity in the town, with the Royal Pump Room, Mercer Art Gallery and Valley Gardens.
• Harlow Hill, is a suburb to the west of the town, accessed by Otley Road. It has a number of new developments, and an office park. It is most well known for Harlow Carr Gardens. Harrogate Spa bottling plant is also on Harlow Hill, as is a water treatment centre.
• New Park, is a small area to the north of Harrogate, known for it's primary school. There are a number of terraced houses in this area, as well as some light industrial and commercial premises.
• Wheatlands, is a wealthy suburb to the south of The Stray. It is exclusively residential, with the exception of 2 high-performing schools, St. Aidan's and St. John Fisher.
• Knox joined to Bilton by a pedestrian bridge over Oak Beck. Originally, a ford allowed road access via Bilton, however now, road access is via the A61 road.
• Hornbeam Park is a small, recently developed area of Harrogate accessed only by Hookstone Chase.It was originally developed as an office park and retains many offices, but it is now also the focus of Harrogate College (a campus of Leeds Metropolitan University), a Canons health club, Travel Inn and restaurant, hospice and some small warehouses. It is served by Hornbeam Park railway station to Harrogate and Leeds.

Town twinning

Harrogate is twinned with:

• - Luchon, France (Since 1952)
• - Wellington, New Zealand
• - Harrogate, Tennessee, United States

Other

The town's newspaper is the Harrogate Advertiser, part of Ackrill Media Group.

The local radio stations are BBC Radio York on 104.3 & 103.7FM and Stray FM on 97.2FM.

Harrogate is a flavour of Mackintosh's Toffee.

Harrogate Nights, is a popular alcoholic beverage, which was created in Harrogate.

Alongside Runnymede, Surrey, people in Harrogate drink alcohol to more hazardous levels than anywhere else in the UK.^[16]

See also

• Eurovision Song Contest 1982
• Association of Harrogate Apprentices
• Harrogate (Stonefall) Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery
• List of spa towns in the United Kingdom

References

External links

• Harrogate Borough Council
• Harrogate Advertiser, local newspaper
• Harrogate Confidential.com, local online magazine about Harrogate
• Harrogate Golf Club
• Harrogate Rugby Union Football Club
• Harrogate Hockey Club
• Harrogate Karate Club
• Harrogate Theatre
• Harrogate People, Places, Events, Historical Brochures, etc.
• Bilton Historical Society
• Project Gutenberg etext of Edmund Deane's Spadacrene Anglica
• Norwood College, Harrogate

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