Archive Society Events

Red kites, song thrushes, greenfinches and great tits were among the birds that came out in song to greet 23 Harrogate Civic Society members on a private visit to RHS Harlow Carr. They were joined by Andrew Willocks, RHS horticulturalist and our expert guide. Andrew’s tour focused on the wildlife and ecology of the site but he was also generous to answer the widest range of horticulture questions that members raised.

We learnt that the avian life above the gardens is joined from time to time at ground level by badgers, foxes, stoats, water shrews and even deer, and that the birds, bees, butterflies and other wildlife numbers are monitored and recorded in national databases.

Our tour soon passed the former mid-19th century Harlow Carr Hotel & Spa (Harrogate Arms), closed to the public since 2014 but which had its informal re-opening as a brand new RHS-managed café the day before our visit. Andrew highlighted some of the significant re-landscaping nearing completion, noting the target to increase biodiversity in this area by 30 per cent. The ongoing challenge to manage drainage throughout the gardens was a consistent theme: one tip we were given was to plant willow to reduce soil erosion and control moisture levels.

We stopped outside the Bramall Learning Centre and Library to inspect the heat-loving Afghan sage beds; we were told about the tufted ducks that arrive in summer to nest on the lake’s island; and we then proceeded to view a magnificent newly-completed sandstone bridge. Andrew explained to us the RHS’s “Wild About Gardens” campaign, and we were all encouraged to follow a "No Mow May" policy for our lawns.

Gloomy skies, chilly April air, and drizzle competing with feeble rays of sun didn’t faze any of us and after two hours admiring and learning about the fauna, flora and landscaping, our guide delivered us to the front of the Harrogate Arms. After a group photo, little effort was needed to encourage us inside for a hot drink, bite to eat, and a sit down, with a chance for members to chat and compare notes on what they’d discovered during a most informative, enjoyable and sociable visit.

The Society’s thanks go to Andrew Willocks and the RHS Harlow Carr team for welcoming and looking after us. As the visit was over-subscribed, we'll seek to repeat it next Spring.

It was standing room only at our AGM on 16th April, with a record attendance of over 70 members. Fortified by a glass of wine (or tea, coffee or water), the members dealt with the business of the meeting. Our outgoing Chair, Stuart Holland, summarised the many events and activities that had ensured a busy year for the committee, who were supported by members of the sub-groups (Planning and Development, History, Communications and Events).

The election of the new Committee took place with Andrew Brown, David Siddans, Henry Pankhurst, Chris Dicken (Treasurer) and Angela Fahy (Secretary) remaining in place. New committee members, Tony Thorndike, Nick Brennan, Michael Laycock, Paul Fennimore, Brian Dunsby and Mike Newby, were elected. Stuart Holland retired from the committee, as did Susan Amaku (after an admirable 25 years of committee membership), leaving the posts of Chair and Vice Chair vacant. Members approved the proposal that Andrew Brown would become an interim Chair, with Mike Newby as Vice Chair. Mike will step in to the Chair role after a period of handover to him, at which point a new Vice Chair will be appointed for the remainder of the year.

Henry Pankhurst thanked both Stuart and Susan profusely for their time in office and gifts were presented to recognise their work on the committee; flowers were also presented to Chris Holland in recognition of the support she had provided to Stuart.

The meeting then heard three short talks from members of the Society. Barry Adams bemoaned the approach of North Yorkshire Council to the town centre, which appears to be largely dictated by traffic engineers and consultants who have little idea of what makes Harrogate special, and then set out some of his vision for the future. David Rhodes talked of Harrogate’s historic significance as a spa, albeit one that only dated back to the eighteenth century, and suggested that this should be used as the basis for future developments. He also reminded us of a number of key anniversaries that will occur in the next few years and suggested that they were all worthy of celebration. Finally, Paul Hatherley argued that visions were of limited use unless they could be turned into reality and explained how the Society, together with Zero Carbon Harrogate, was exploring whether there was the appetite for a Neighbourhood Plan that would help to define the town’s future.

The evening closed when Andrew Brown thanked the three speakers and all those who had been involved in the organisation of what had been a very successful event.

Inspired by the popular talk about the census given to society members by Dr Paul Jennings on 20 February, this practical hands-on session, in the top-floor local studies area of Harrogate Library, attracted an eager group of ten members, the maximum that space would allow. All were keen to begin or progress their own family, house or other local history research.

Paul was on hand to offer guidance, including in the use of the computer terminals to gain free access online to Ancestry for the census and other records, and demonstrating how to use the census on microfilm. Angela Fahy, secretary of the society and regular volunteer at the library, described the variety of printed materials, some stored in the basement and awaiting cataloguing, that exist to aid our research. Ian Rogers, who volunteers at the library one morning a week, providing a drop-in advice service for the public seeking help with family history research, also kindly joined us. Old Harrogate street maps, books about the census, and a recently-donated album of old colourised photos of Harrogate were brought out for us to examine.

Some delved into online census records to aid their family history research, several wanted to learn about their house's history and focused on the old street directories and maps, while others explored the folders of old photos of the town. Members soon got caught up in their studies, as one discovery led to another, and so the event went on longer than planned. The society is grateful to the staff at Harrogate Library for welcoming us and reserving a room for this most interesting and educational event.

Kevin Hales

A visit to Allerton Waste Recovery Plant was a revelation - we could not have imagined how advanced the technology is for dealing with our humble “black bin” household waste. Allerton only processes North Yorkshire waste (and not recycling) but, rather than going to landfill, the waste goes through a complex conveyor belt system so that it can be “recovered”. Organic waste is diverted to a digestor (which produces gas) and recyclable waste is extracted to be sold on (as not all households recycle correctly). The remainder is incinerated to produce electricity.

Our guide challenged us to say what should be put in our recycling bin - and even the most devoted recyclers got some of that wrong! Amongst the dos and don’t were:

Do not recycle black plastic containers/pots-much plastic is recycled into new bottles/containers, which is good, but the companies who reuse it do not like black as it affects the colour of the recycled product.

Do put the metal lids back on glass bottles before recycling - if loose they are difficult for the recycling machinery to identify.

Don’t recycle paper that has plastic/foil/sparkles on it but don’t worry about removing the plastic windows from envelopes - they separate easily from the paper on the recycling process. But don’t recycle shop till receipts - they have some plastic in them.

We were guided through the plant, watching the conveyor belts was both fascinating and depressing. The amount of soft plastic packaging was striking - despite the fact that many supermarkets now have collection points where it can be recycled.

The sorting system (which includes infrared lights to detect plastic, and magnets to detect metal) handles 1000 tons of waste each day and once it has extracted organic matter/plastic and metals the remainder is burnt in the on-site furnace, generating 30 mega watts per hour of electricity, 365 days a year. Banks of computer screens monitor the temperature of the furnace, and the emissions, which are strictly controlled.

Final lessons from the day were that if in doubt it is better to put something in general waste (as it will be incinerated) than put it in recycling (where the wrong thing causes all sorts of problems), and also that (while we didn’t see any) there are plenty of rats at the plant - they hitch a lift in the rubbish.

After teas and coffees and a chance to socialise and chat, over 60 members sat down to be taken by Dr Paul Jennings on a journey through the decades of the census. He brought to life a fascinating subject that many of us know little about, and punctuated the story with census data from his own family history.

We learnt that beginning in 1801, despite concerns even then about “invasion of privacy”, simple population counts were undertaken every ten years. Officials who supported the count, known as enumerators from 1841, had laboriously to transcribe by hand all details from individual schedules into large registers. We were told that the records from 1931 went up in smoke in 1942, and that since the 1921 census individuals’ details remain confidential for 100 years.

Paul illustrated his talk throughout with extracts of original census registers - with, for example, some names being assigned “FP” by 1841 if the individual had been born in Foreign Parts - and with contemporary cartoons. He gave as an example Valley Road in Harrogate where just one of the residents in 1901 had been born in the town.

There was time at the end for feedback and questions from the audience and then we were reminded that Paul will host a hands-on workshop at the Library on 11 April where members will be able to bring along their own census and similar research, investigate the local studies materials, ask questions and seek advice.

Sue Wood, North Yorkshire Council Horticultural Development Officer and RHS Britain in Bloom judge, took 40+ members and guests on a virtual tour of the many parks/gardens under her care. While most of us know and appreciate Valley Gardens we also had our eyes opened to the history of Ripon Spa gardens, established by the 1st Marquess of Ripon and the work being done there to ensure its continued success in competitions such as Yorkshire in Bloom (Platinum winner in 2022). Like many public spaces anti social behaviour is a challenge but rather than remove areas of planting that attract such behaviour NY found a creative solution- rather than removing trees completely their trunks were carved by "Chain Saw artist" Mick Burns into an Alice in Wonderland display.

The gardens at Conyham Hall and the gardens around Knaresborough House and Castle were also featured.

Of course we also heard about Valley Gardens, and the recent projects renewing the New Zealand and Japanese Gardens. Valley Gardens is one of the few public gardens still featuring the once traditional summer dahlia display bed.

A very illuminating evening, making all present appreciate the wonderful gardens we have in the local area.


It remains to be seen how the gardens that were under local management (Harrogate Borough Council) will fare under North Yorkshire Council control. Unfortunately cuts in budgets are feared reducing the already limited funds available for the excellent gardening team, and possibly seeing the replacement of dramatic, and often themed, seasonal flower beds with easier to maintain grass.

Anyone standing in the rain outside the hall might have believed they were hearing a professional choir performing inside! But no, the dulcet tones were those of Civic Society Members, in hearty voice as they sang along to songs and carols as part of the Society’s Christmas social event.

Over 70 Members came together in the hall of St Wilfrid’s church, on a thoroughly wet and grey Saturday afternoon, to make and renew friendships; to enjoy a glass of wine or juice, or a good old cup of tea; and to take the lead from Christine and Mandy from the Harrogate Dramatic Society in exercising their vocal chords.

Jane and Paul did brisk trade at their book-stall, Stuart spoke at the end of the Society’s achievements during 2023 and what’s on the agenda for 2024, and just a tiny few lonely mince pies remained untouched when the party came to a close.

One minor hiccup arose in the lead-up. The hall’s boilers had been a bit on the blink. Would members have to shiver inside, clad in their thermals, bobble hats and woolly gloves? Well no, of course not! The church had swiftly arranged back-up heaters but then, a couple of hours before the party, the boilers miraculously came back to life. In the end, the heat from the radiators was matched perfectly with the warmth and friendliness of the party atmosphere in the hall. Kevin Hales.

The Society was privileged on 22 November to welcome to Harrogate Sarah Holloway, national programme manager of the Heritage Open Days (HODs) festival, who gave an evening talk to us in the magnificent surroundings of St Wilfrid’s church, the town’s only Grade I listed heritage building.

While Members are familiar with how Harrogate participates in this festival each September, it was fascinating to hear from Sarah about heritage at a wider, national level, and her talk highlighted some particularly intriguing and unexpected heritage finds across the country. We also learnt that HODs in England involves over 2,200 local organisers and an astonishing 44,000 volunteers, and were reminded that HODs next year is not far away - for your diaries, it’s 6 to 15 September 2024!

The talk and visit were also an opportunity for Members, and the Society as a whole, to show off to a national leader of heritage how Harrogate promotes its own rich history and culture. To that end, it was especially pleasing that so many of our local volunteer HODs event hosts and organisers were at the event, who could stand to take a bow and accept a most warm round of applause from the audience for all their efforts to make HODs such a success in the town. The evening also included a short talk about the heritage of St Wilfrid’s itself, and how the church regularly welcomes visitors to its own varied HODs events.

There was plenty of time before the talks for Members to share a drink of wine or juice, to meet our speaker, and to admire the splendour of the St Wilfrid’s setting. And next morning, before Sarah took the train back to London, a small group of Members accompanied her to visit some key heritage - and HODs - sites in the town, including Valley Gardens and a short tour of the Royal Pump Room Museum hosted by its curator. The walk ended in Wetherspoon’s for a coffee and chat, a fabulous example of a fine and prominent heritage building with a modern-day use, which we hope left our speaker suitably impressed! Kevin Hales

A keen audience of members and guests met at Harrogate Library to hear three speakers.
Firstly, Alison Wheat (Outreach Librarian) who outlined the many resources available in the Library’s Local Studies Collection, and others such as Ancestry, Find my Past and digitised archival Newspapers accessible online in the Library (but only available from home if a subscription is paid).
Paul Jennings spoke about use of the Census (also available online in the Library) and the challenges of interpreting entries. The early censuses had the individual house entries transposed, by officials, into the records we now see- with consequent variations in family and place names creeping in.
Kevin Hales spoke about the use of street directories, newspapers and Google in his research into previous occupiers of his house which included a Methodist minister about whom it was claimed: ‘in the course of his ministry he had never spent fourteen consecutive days at home, and during the last ten years he had slept in 530 different beds’.
We then moved to the Local Studies Room where library staff has set out original newspapers from 1912, street directories and maps so that we could have a hands-on experience of these resources. A number of members remarked that they had not known that the Library provide such a wealth of resources for research. On the strength of this we plan another visit to the Library in the Spring for coffee and a closer look at some of this material, guided by those of our members who know their way around the Local Studies room.

Members heard about the many improvements taking place at the Harlow Carr Gardens, and future plans. This 58 acres of garden and woodland (the Northern Horticultural Society grounds until they merged with RHS in 2001) attracts approx. 460,000 visitors from all over the country and 30,000 children on school visits, every year. The gardens, and surrounding area have seen a great deal of change in recent years. Many members will remember that, not that long ago, the gardens were surrounded by fields, not houses. Now increased water run-off from new roads and parking areas of course heads down the slope to the gardens. While the developers take some steps to mitigate this, the gardens have themselves been adapted to manage. One of the most dramatic recent changes has been the creation of more streams and pools leading down to the main streamside gardens. The philosophy of working with nature and the surroundings is also seen in the management of invasive species (introduced before their dangers were appreciated) like Skunk Cabbage (which has got as far as the Nidd Valley) and Gunnera- both exotic giants that grow by the stream. Until they can be eradicated they remain there as a warning NOT to plant them in our gardens.

The reunification of the Harrogate Arms with the gardens, especially the Bath House area, has been long planned and now almost complete, restoring the views to how they would have looked to visitors at the height of the Spa years. The Bettys’ tea house will be moved to a location elsewhere in the garden. There are ambitious plans to plant 100s more trees in the woodland area, adding more flowering trees, and filling in where ash die-back has created gaps. The productive garden area will be expanded and, if you ever wondered what happens to all those vegetables and fruits, produce will be used in the new café in the Harrogate Arms. Given the fact that most of those attending the talk transpired to already be RHS members there was complete agreement that membership (special offer of £49.70 for single membership at the moment) was money very well spent. Talk to the Civic Society Paul Cook, Curator of RHS Harlow Carr. Report by Angela Fahy.

Ogden of Harrogate, since 1893 one of the town's most prestigious and creative family businesses, welcomed on 15, 19 and 21 September 2023 three groups of Harrogate Civic Society members to a reception, talk and exhibition at the splendid James Street showrooms.

These members-only events came one week after Ogden’s participated for the first time in the national Heritage Open Days festival. Spaces for those openings were snapped up by the public very rapidly, so Civic Society members were especially privileged to have private viewings arranged solely for them. Even so, each event was fully booked and with a waiting list.

After being greeted by Robert Ogden, a current director of the business and fifth-generation family member, we were offered a glass of sparkling wine, which nicely set the friendly and relaxed scene for the rest of the afternoon. In Robert’s talk to the group, he explained that the business has always been at the forefront of craftsmanship, fashion and design in jewellery, precious metals, and watch-making. We learnt that branches have existed in London’s Duke Street and elsewhere, and in 2015 Ogden opened in Minster Gates, York. Pictures were on display, showing distinguished clients including Sir Winston Churchill, the Roosevelts, King George VI, Princess Marina, countless aristocrats, members of high society, and those from the creative arts world.

A highlight of our visit was the extensive exhibition of artefacts relating to Ogden’s business and most fascinating family history. Bespoke vintage pieces were on display in original Georgian display cases in the Regency Room, and we could view - from behind security glass! - Ogden's in-house workshop.

Members were told about James Roberts' interests in archaeology and his work with Howard Carter to test and replicate ancient objects found in the 1922 discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb and with Sir Leonard Woolley at the excavations of the Royal Graves at Ur. In the room amongst us was Ogden’s sparkling replica of the Imperial State Crown, created by the firm in 1937, along with the winning entries in a competition for school pupils to design two crowns for the coronation of King Charles III.

Sadly there were no free gifts of priceless jewels or silver trinkets for members to take away with them, but the opportunity to see and learn about a business that has thrived for over 130 years and remains a landmark in Harrogate's commercial and artistic life is surely one that none of us will forget. Kevin Hales

Kevin Hales, a member of our Events Group responsible for organising Harrogate’s Heritage Open Days events, writes:
Harrogate will once again be playing a prominent role in the national Heritage Open Days (HODs) festival, which runs this year from Friday 8 to Sunday 17 September. Preparations are in full swing, and the Harrogate Civic Society has been working with many different heritage sites, organisations and religious establishments in the town, along with local heritage enthusiasts, to build a varied and interesting series of events. Twenty are already registered. Highlights to date include: Ogden of Harrogate, welcoming visitors to an exhibition and talk at its James Street premises, and new heritage walks led by local experts in each of Pannal, Ripley Village, and Valley Gardens. We are proud to include in our HODs programme, for local residents and visitors from far and wide to attend, two important talks that form part of the town’s extensive War Memorial Centenary commemorations programme. There will once again be events at the Harrogate Club and at the Library, also in Bilton and New Park and at several of Harrogate’s most impressive churches along with guided walks around the Heritage Plaques harrogateplaques.org and through the Duchy estate. For those who wish to explore a cemetery, or admire local art, there will be something for them and anyone who’s keen on climbing towers will have two (so far) to choose from. Other events are in the pipeline and key details will be in a timetable guide on the Civic Society website. The fullest and most up-to-date details of all HODs events across England will, as usual, be on the national website heritageopendays.org.uk/.

While visitors may have come primarily to inspect the prize legumes and lettuces, over fifty of them also stopped by to inspect the Harrogate Civic Society’s own displays, and to learn about its activities. This was a late August Sunday at Valley Gardens, sunny but blustery, where the society is a regular attendee at the annual show of the Harrogate and District Allotment Federation. Several committee and other members were on hand to greet passers-by and to promote the Society’s activities. Judging of the floral offerings seemed to take longer than expected, but while this progressed the locked doors of the Sun Pavilion meant that waiting horticulture enthusiasts had extra time in the colonnades to pick up the Society's heritage plaques guide, a membership leaflet, or the latest newsletter. They could even have gently dangled in front of them one of the new keyrings and-cards which advertise the Society, the plaques, and Heritage Open Days. Of particular interest to many was the programme for the town's extensive commemorations of the War Memorial Centenary. It was fascinating, and sometimes quite amusing, to discover what people wished to talk about. Many were keen to know the Society’s position on the Station Gateway proposals, and some were not shy in articulating their own views on this interesting topic. I fear our friends from Ripon Civic Society, on the adjacent table, must have wondered what all the noise was about! ‘What did we think of the Otley Road cycle path initiative?’ more than a few locals asked. It was pleasing to note that many Harrogate folk knew that the Society’s focus extends well into the present and future, as well as taking a deep interest in the town’s heritage and past. It was a busy and lively stand. Visitors we spoke with had come from as far away as Nottingham, and even New Zealand, though perhaps not solely to receive a keyring! Perhaps a dozen left names or emails, in order to receive more information. We didn’t win any prizes for our onions or dahlias, but I hope we did score top marks in engaging with potential new members and showing off what the Society is all about. Report by Kevin Hales.

On the afternoon of 16 August thirty Society members and friends gathered at the Washburn Heritage Centre, set above Swinsty reservoir and adjacent to Fewston church. We were met by Sally, our guide for the afternoon, who invited us to look around the churchyard before heading into the centre. After a cup of tea we were given a quick resumé of the background to the centre, which came about as the result of a plan to put a small extension onto the church. Sally then explained how the excavation to build the Heritage Centre had involved the discovery of some fascinating history. It had been anticipated some human remains would be found, but no-one expected to find 154 sets, now known as the Fewston Assemblage. Teams from Durham and York universities carried out extensive research and have been able to identify around 20 of the people buried there, as well as discover much information about the lives of people in the valley, many of them children, assumed to have been employed in the local mills and farms. Experts have even been able to create facial reconstructions of two local people – both on display in the foyer. The afternoon was fiinished off with more tea and an amazing selection of home made cakes and scones all made and served by the volunteers there. If you have not been to the Heritage Centre it really is worth a visit. The centre is run completely by volunteers and is open Saturdays and Sundays until the end of October, Sundays only from November to March. There is much more information on the website www.washburnvalley.org.

Event Cancelled.

On what was a very warm June day, a group of around twenty-five members and guests were given a guided walk around Grove Road Cemetery.
Paul Jennings writes: My guided walk was inspired by Malcolm Neesam's researches, supplemented with my own work on the burial registers from 1864 to 1920. The Cemetery was opened in 1864 in what was then a largely unbuilt area, after concern that the existing one at Christ Church was becoming overcrowded. The very first burial was of a seven-year-old girl. Sadly, infants and small children made up a large proportion of those interred over the years. After looking at the white marble memorial to the First World War dead of Bilton, recently restored and relocated from the Methodist Chapel opposite the Cemetery, we then visited a wide variety of graves. These included some of the town's most influential citizens, like Richard Ellis and George Dawson, both builders responsible for some of Harrogate's loveliest developments and others who made their mark, like the historian William Grainge or John Farrah of the toffee business. We also took in less well-known figures, some of whom reflected Harrogate's attraction to people from other lands, like the ex-slave Thomas Rutling of Tennessee, who made his home here after touring Europe with the famous Fisk University Jubilee Singers, German band leader Otto Schwarz who collapsed and died at the station and the Italian Crolla family who similarly entertained with their barrel organ. The dead of two world wars are also represented and we saw several Commonwealth War Graves and a monument to Donald Bell, who won the Victoria Cross and whilst buried in France is remembered in Harrogate. Also Alfred Bruce, a former pupil of Harrogate Grammar School who drowned along with five other soldiers on a training exercise preparing to cross canals in Belgium and France. He is buried here in a quiet shaded corner. To date there have been over 12,000 interments and there are over 5,000 graves. Burials still take place here, but infrequently. The former cemetery lodge is now a private house. There is so much to see and learn in old graveyards and cemeteries and an incredible variety of styles of monument and many of course who have no monument at all. As they were originally intended, not just as places to bury the dead, but for the living to walk in, to remember and to reflect, so we can do the same today.

No report.

On 26 April, twenty six members enjoyed a very interesting and entertaining tour of Ripley Castle, home of the Ingilby family. We started in the Georgian House and ended in the Drawing room for cream tea, via the Tudor tower. A combination of saving King Edward III from a wild boar in Knaresborough Forest (and being rewarded with a title) and later marrying into money (and building the Georgian house) means that we can now enjoy these historic buildings. The family’s history included service to Henry VI, Mary Tudor and Elizabeth I. James VI of Scotland stayed overnight on his way to London to become James I of England- the plaster ceiling in the Tower House having been installed in 4 days in honour of his visit. Within a few years the Ingilby family were involved in the gunpowder plot to kill him- and the plotters met in the Tower rooms we visited. The Georgian house is still the family home, and contains lovely examples of the furniture and furnishing fashionable at the time of its construction, including chairs made by Chippendale (who was born in Otley).

No report

See 3rd October 2022 report.

On 13 March we held our AGM at Harrogate Theatre. Over seventy members attended, despite the miserable weather. Following tea and coffee, we enjoyed a tour of the theatre led by Ash Miller, the customer experience manager.
Following the tour, David Bown, the theatre’s chief executive, gave a short talk on the history of the theatre since it first opened in 1900, including various occasions when circumstances forced it to close.
Stuart Holland, our chairman, then led us efficiently through the business of the evening. The curtain fell at 8.30 pm at the end of a very successful evening.

Earlier this month a ceremony attended by a number of society members saw the final closure of the exhibition Welcome to Harrogate Railways. Possibly the most ambitious project ever to be proposed and supported by the Civic Society, Welcome to Harrogate Railways was hugely successful, far more than we ever anticipated. Originally intended to last for only three days last summer, Welcome to Harrogate Railways lasted for eight months. Over that period It was seen by many hundreds of enthusiasts and visitors, raising in the process over £1325 in donations for Cancer Research UK. The exhibition was a partnership between the Civic Society and the railway companies LNER, Northern and Network Rail. It involved a significant team of volunteers but was the brainchild of just one man – society member Terry Williams – A gift of a framed print of Stephenson’s Rocket was presented to him at the closing ceremony. Thank you, Terry and well done! Nigel McClea.

On 21 February we welcomed Bernard Higgins who gave a wide-ranging talk on Jack Metcalf and brought both Jack and his era vividly to life for us.

Born in 1717 in humble circumstances, Jack lost his sight due to smallpox at the age of 7. He grew up to be an imposing character. He was 6’2” in height when the average for a man at the time was 5’6” and, with the help of his friends, became an accomplished musician, huntsman and trader as well as drinker, gambler and smuggler. But what he is best known for locally is his road building. He saw the business opportunity presented by the Turnpike Trusts Act and in 1752 applied to build 3 miles of road between Ferrensby and Minskip, followed by the Starbeck to Knaresborough road and the road from Harrogate to Harewood Bridge. He used workers who he met in his career as a military adventurer which included recruiting men to the Yorkshire Blues, who fought at the battle of Culloden. He supervised the work closely and is now rightly remembered in the naming of part of the Harrogate bypass as ‘John Metcalf Way’. We can also remember him when next passing the Cedar Court Hotel. The hotel first on that site was the Queen’s Head, where before his time as a road builder, he played the fiddle for guests. Report by Angela Fahy.

A talk given by Jemima Parker to the Civic Society on 17 January:

It was a pleasure to speak at a recent Harrogate Civic Society event and to have such an engaged and thoughtful audience.
They had no difficulty in addressing my initial challenge ‘How has the Harrogate landscape and culture changed in the past 10 or 20 years?’ New buildings, internet shopping, electric buses, 40oC temperatures and home working were just a few of the responses. However, most of us find change challenging, so it is not surprising that the transition we need to undertake to adapt and mitigate for our changing climate can be hard to embrace. Having a clear vision of what a low carbon society and economy could look like is critical to enable us to imagine what Harrogate could look and feel like in 10 or 20 years’ time.
Zero Carbon Harrogate (ZCH) is a volunteer led, apolitical, charity seeking to set that vision, advocate for proactive change and taking action to help the local area decarbonise. With good decision making there are many co-benefits - warmer buildings, cheaper locally produced energy, better air quality, flourishing natural habitats, quality jobs, healthier diets and travel. To this end we work collaboratively with a range of partners such as the Civic Society. Most of our local carbon emissions stem from energy use in our buildings and our travel. As well as regular conversations with local politicians and businesses, ZCH runs a pioneering retrofit programme with two objectives. To raise awareness with home owners about how to refurbish our homes to save energy/ carbon and to upskill local professionals and people in the building industry so that they are equipped to provide those retrofitting services. With funding from the Industry Energy Redress Fund, we are able to provide free training for local tradespeople. Over 50 local schools have participated in the ZCH Walk to School Days, which are supported by Harrogate Town FC, with their mascot Harrygator being very popular with the children as he comes along to journey to school with them.

My second challenge to the Civic Society members was to examine your own carbon footprint. The World Wide Fund for Nature have an easy to use carbon calculator at https://footprint.wwf.org.uk/ It offers tips and hints on how we can play our part by reducing our personal carbon emissions. As a respected voice in Harrogate, the Civic Society can speak up for appropriate adaptations to decarbonise our buildings, transport infrastructure and green spaces both through the local authority planning process and in the local media. Members could reduce the impact of the society itself by walking or lift sharing to meetings. Lastly, I invited the members to explore the ZCH website and consider offering us your support by joining our mailing list, becoming a member or by volunteering with us.

Once again we held our popular Christmas Social in the splendid setting of St Wilfrid’s parish hall, Duchy Road. Along with the lure of tea, coffee, wine and mince pies we are also offering the opportunity to do some Christmas shopping! There will be a sale of books of local interest, and, around 3.30 pm, Dr Paul Jennings will present a very short talk entitled ‘Old Harrogate Pubs’.

On 29th November some 60 members and invited guests spurned the World Cup to attend a briefing at the Harrogate Convention Centre. We were told of the challenges facing the venue and given a confident vision of the future. Sadly the director, Paula Lorimer, could not be there to greet us, but we were made very welcome by Head of Operations Michael Constantine.

Michael talked about the Centre’s history, now more than 50 years old, and its size, a footprint greater than the rest of the Council’s public estate put together. An elegant venue in its time, by the 1990s it had reached the top five of conference and exhibition centres in the UK. But since then its fortunes have been in gentle but persistent decline until it is now well outside the top ten.

So why is this?

First, the venue is tired, after years of insufficient investment in repairs and renewals.

Second, it cannot accommodate the current key conference market (500 delegates or more) nor can it provide the flexible breakout spaces required.

Third, newer venues (such as Liverpool and Manchester) are major competitors with more contemplated, such as Gateshead and Leeds.

The good news is that customers love Harrogate. All that is needed is a venue that reflects the quality of the destination. The Centre still delivers a massive economic benefit to the town and district, attracting 157,000 visitors each year with an economic impact (for the hospitality, retail and leisure sectors) of some £35m.

So what are the options?

The Council, who own the Centre, could “do nothing”, continue as it is with minimal investment. But that would only lead to further decline. Forensic accountants KPMG have estimated that, over a 40 year period,“do nothing”would result in the Centre losing some £250m. This would result in a massive ratepayer subsidy.

Or the Centre could “do the minimum”, see vital improvements to the venue’s infrastructure but not the fundamental redevelopment needed to restore the competitive edge. The 40 year loss might reduce to about £113m, but still hardly satisfactory.

Or the Centre could “do something”, by some degree the most attractive of the options, seeing the 1980s buildings substantially redeveloped and upgraded.

But Michael was at pains to point out that “do something” would not be cheap. Even the first phase (approximately the eastern half of the venue)is likely to cost some £46m. Even so, KPMG’s model indicates that “do something” would eliminate the deficit and indeed convert into a £29m surplus over the 40 year period.

So “Do something” is the option being vigorously pursued, with the new unitary council already showing its commitment by agreeing for Harrogate to invest some £3m to work up phase 1 in detail including tendered costs. Yes, the capital cost remains to be found, perhaps from a mixture of borrowings, authority reserves and central government funding. An application has already been made for a £20m grant from the levelling up fund. But Michael is confident it can be found.

So a bright future is predicted and Michael finished by asking us for constructive and nurturing feedback, support and encouragement - and any good ideas that the Centre team have not already thought of.

So that is our challenge!

Precis of talk from Paul Jennings :

Schooling in the Edwardian period was almost completely segregated by social class. This talk looks at the two types of school which children attended. There were the state schools for working-class and some lower middle-class children, run by School Boards and from 1904 by Harrogate Borough Council, like Grove Road or Western schools. And there were private schools for the middle and upper-middle classes, for which Harrogate was a big centre due principally to its reputation as a health resort. In these years there were over thirty such schools with nearly seven hundred boarders, together with day pupils. These ranged from large schools like Ashville or Harrogate Ladies College to much smaller establishments like Bilton Grange for boys or Dunorlan for girls. The talk looks among other things at what the children were taught, how discipline was enforced and how their attendance was affected. Finally, I compare what happened to these children beyond school.

Reflection on “HARROGATE ON FILM” by Paula Stott of the Harrogate Film Society.

An exploratory meeting late last year between Harrogate Civic Society and Harrogate Film Society quickly identified common bonds and resulted in an idea - an approach to Yorkshire Film Archive to curate and screen a special programme of films from their extensive archives, focussing on Harrogate and Knaresborough. The Odeon were also keen to be involved.

Given this was a “first” for all, much time and effort went into planning the event. Particular attention was paid to how the Odeon would cope with serving 250 teas, coffees and biscuits in 20 minutes!

Hopes were high when tickets went on sale but reality far exceeded expectations, with two sell out screenings. Two more will follow next year.

Reaction has been overwhelmingly positive - 79% giving the experience a 5 star rating; 21% giving it 4 stars. The films evoked many memories, viewers seeing themselves or others they knew. Someone even spotted his Grandpa as an extra in the film “Agatha”!

The response can be summed up by an audience member who wrote: “Fantastic archive. Fantastic music. Great content and compering. Wonderful collaboration across societies”

Many asked when and what will be the next thing we do together? Don’t worry it is already being discussed!

The Society’s visit to Allerton Castle fell on a perfect early autumn day. Seemingly set in a grand park of rolling Yorkshire pasture the house owns just 43 hectares of the adjoining land, the surrounding estate having been sold off in the 1980s.

Now owned by the Ralph Foundation, the house has undergone an extensive restoration with the aim to return it, as much as possible, to its 1870s condition. It has had a varied life, including occupation by the Canadian air force in WWII, leased to a Catholic religious order in the 1960s and finally, after falling into disrepair, was purchased by the American Dr Rolph.

After tea and cake (of course) members were guided through the magnificent public rooms, now often used for weddings, and shown the painstaking restoration work that has taken place. The initial restoration had to be re-done after an extensive fire in 2005.

No report.

Once again, the Civic Society was pleased to support the Allotment Federation’s Show in the Sun Pavilion, Valley Gardens, on Sunday 21 August. We were able to display our new membership leaflets, guides on the plaque trails, bookmarks, Heritage Open Days programmes and information about forthcoming events. Most importantly, we talked to people. Our stall attracted a steady flow of interest from local residents, visitors to Harrogate and representatives of other societies and organisations. We thank all the volunteers who helped. This was just one of the efforts we are making to publicise the work of the Civic Society and to maintain links with other groups and organizations in the town. We thank the Federation organizers for an excellent event.

Railway exhibition to be extended.

In our last Newsletter we previewed the exhibition Welcome to Harrogate Railways, the brainchild of Society member Terry Williams. Principally designed to celebrate the 160th anniversary of the Railway Station (but with fascinating detail about the Barber line taking coal to the gas works of New Park and the railway connections that at one time radiated from Harrogate) the exhibition has proved a phenomenal success. So much so that the railway authorities with whom we partnered (Network Rail, Northern and LNER) have decided to extend the life of the exhibition until at least the end of December.

So, if you have not yet had an opportunity to visit, you have another chance. We expect the exhibition to reopen to the public at Harrogate Railway Station on the first Saturday and Sunday of each month (September, October, November, and December) between 10:00am to 3:00pm.

As before, the exhibition will be free but donations to the railway’s charity of choice, Cancer Research UK, will be welcome. Over £300 has been raised so far.

This reopening is unanticipated and a very great compliment to Terry and his team.

In July members enjoyed a behind-the-scenes visit to the Great Yorkshire Show, arranged by the Yorkshire
Agricultural Society and hosted by Charles Mills. Charles, the Show’s director for the last seven years,
started with a short introduction followed by a tour. It did not take long to appreciate just what a big deal the Great Yorkshire Show is.
When not otherwise engaged, Charles runs an arable and sheep farm at Appleton Roebuck and was possibly the only one of the party oblivious to the heat on a meltingly hot Sunday afternoon. A charming and extremely knowledgeable host, his fund of amusing anecdotes brought the whole experience to life with highlights almost too numerous to mention. The group enjoyed a visit to the President’s Balcony, to the sheds where the largest bulls sheltered, and outside where other cattle were being hosed down against the heat. Then it was off to the parlour where £175,000’s worth of kit not only milked a cow with eye-watering efficiency but also tested it for ailments such as mastitis. One or two members were even allowed to sit on the cushion laid out for use by Princess Anne later in the week!
The visit was concluded with a life-saving drink, a piece of cake and a lot of jollity before departing with huge
thanks to new-found friends at the Yorkshire Agricultural Society.

On 31 May, a capacity audience of society members heard Wallace Sampson and Cllr Graham Swift (Chief Executive and deputy leader respectively of Harrogate Borough Council) describe the process leading to the creation of a new council for North Yorkshire.
In April next year (2023), all seven district councils, including Harrogate, will cease to exist. Among the matters to be discussed in the period ahead will be a decision on the creation of a town council for Harrogate, and what powers and responsibilities it might have. Our speakers described the process by which a town council might be set up, namely a ’community governance review’. Finally, there would be a move towards devolution, involving an elected mayor for North Yorkshire and York. It suggested that this could unlock around £2.4 billion of investment over 30 years.

Over 150 guests filled the ballroom at the Cedar Court Hotel last month to witness the launch of this great achievement by Malcolm Neesam.
The event has been extensively reported on in the media but in case you missed the reports, you can catch up by:
• Following the Stray Ferret report: https:// thestrayferret.co.uk/major-book-chartinghistory-of-harrogates-glory-days-launched/
• Watching a video of the event, prepared by the Harrogate Informer: https://youtu.be/t0Q_RoOa3xo • Reading the Harrogate Informer report: https:// www.harrogate-news.co.uk/2022/04/26/videomalcolm-neesam-releases-the-2nd-part-of-wellsand-swells-the-golden-age-of-harrogate-spa1842-1923/?mo=11&yr=1941
You can purchase a copy of the book, in two volumes, from Carnegie Publishing.

Sixty members took part in the Annual General Meeting for the period ended 28 February 2022. The meeting followed a very interesting talk on the history of brass bands by Gavin Holman. The highlights of the year were described under headings of Events, Plaques, HODS, History, Newsletters and Planning. The full report is available on our website: https://www.harrogatecivicsociety.org/_files/ugd/ ad2cce_0f66252ff1b44fb3b8c40f7e8a13d605.pdf The existing committee was re-elected with the addition of Andrew Brown. The committee, at their first meeting after the AGM, appointed Stuart Holland as chair and Susan Amaku as vice-chair. The committee is grateful to Susan for her work as co-chair with Stuart during the two covid years. Susan is concentrating on her work and remains a valuable member of the committee, particularly with her architectural knowledge. An important part of the meeting was listening to the views of members on topics such as programme, newsletters and membership subscriptions.

Gavin Holman, an expert on British and American brass bands, gave an illustrated talk at the AGM, and we thank him for this.contribution.

There were seventeen various amateur brass and military bands that entertained Harrogate’s townsfolk and visitors over the last 180 years. These ranged from the Harrogate Brass Band (1842-1861) through to the current Harrogate Band (1970-). These bands, consisting of local musicians, co-existed with the professional
musicians engaged by the town corporation and businesses. Some bands received sponsorship from the townsfolk, others depended wholly on their engagement fees. They performed across the district in many concerts, supporting civic events and parades, and providing music for the visiting tourists and spa clients.

A capacity audience attended our second talk of 2022 held on 22 February at St Paul’s URC Hall. Judy d’Arcy Thompson, Chair of the Stray Defence Association, our guest speaker for the evening, gave a very informative and lighthearted talk on the many benefits of our beautiful and unique Stray and how fundamental this large green area is to the people of Harrogate.
The Stray Defence Association came into being in May 1933 and nearly 90 years later its objective remains the same to safeguard Harrogate’s Stray against building and encroachment from all quarters. The Stray itself is much older and formally came into effect in 1778 when 200 acres of open common land were granted to the people of Harrogate. To this day the Stray is Crown Land with Harrogate Borough
Council responsible for its maintenance. The Harrogate Stray Act 1985 further protects our Stray and subject to certain provisions enshrines the right for free access at all times.
But what does the Stray actually mean to most people? In Judy’s words, ‘it is just there like a comforting old cardigan’. Well used and enjoyed by individuals and groups in all seasons. Some 7-8 million crocuses announce the arrival of Spring followed by the daffodils. Summer is heralded with 2000 beautiful trees and the sight of people enjoying the open space. Autumn is for the warm colours. Finally Winter on the Stray shows its beauty in white.
Judy also reminded us that Harrogate is privileged to have the Stray as a place to escape from modern life. With lifestyles taking a toll on our mental health and physical wellbeing it is a place of refuge and freedom – our very own ‘natural health service’. The green spaces of the Stray helped during lockdown with an endless supply of fresh air, space and the ability to relieve stress. The environmental importance of the Stray is often
overlooked. Harrogate has its own natural green lung soaking up water, heat and pollution which is the envy of other urban areas. Judy’s presentation enlightened us on many facts. There followed interesting questions covering topics such as the future of the Stray when the Unitary Authority comes to power, wilding, ongoing flooding issues, the problems of litter and the commercial use of the Stray. Hopefully this will make us really ‘think’ about the essential importance of our beautiful and unique Stray.

Andrew Carnegie, A generous scot. A tale of two palaces. : Jim Clark. 18 Jan 2022

A capacity audience of 50 members attended Harrogate Library on 18th January for our first talk of 2022. Postponed from 2 years ago, Cllr Jim Clarke spoke to us about Andrew Carnegie and the Libraries he endowed, especially Harrogate Library.

Born in Dunfermline, Scotland, Carnegie emigrated at 12 to USA with no real formal education but he had, as a child, been allowed use the home library of another Dunfermline resident and this made him realise the value of public access to libraries.

He became one of the richest men in the world, and set about (amongst other philanthropic work) giving money to towns world wide ,but mostly in the UK and the U.S., for the building of libraries. Over 2,000 were built, 660 of those in the UK and Ireland..

The first was built in his home town of Dunfermline. By 1906 he had paid for the Harrogate Library, and along with Skipton library, these are the only Carnegie libraries in North Yorkshire, though Keighley Library was the first in England.

Carnegie had strict rules as requirement for library. The need had to be demonstrated and town had to provide the site. The Council had to pay staff and maintain the buildings with public funds used to run it. Access to the library had to be free.

Harrogate Library has at times been under threat, and there were proposals by North Yorkshire County Council in 2004 to turn it into a “Discovery Centre”. Fortunately, these plans were opposed, including by Cllr Clark, and then dropped, instead money was invested in a major modernisation of the Library.

As originally conceived by the town fathers the current Library building was to form part of a much larger building (described as a “Municipal Palace” in the plans) that would have included a Town Hall. This was planned to be built in Princes Square, but we only have the hint of its grandeur in the fine façade of the Library.

In mid December about 50 Society members gathered at St Wilfrid’s Parish Hall, on Duchy Road, for our annual Christmas social event. As the hall is associated with Harrogate’s only Grade 1 Listed historic building the venue was appropriate. The high ceiling of the 1930’s hall (with its unusual Lamella roof), and open doors, allowed members to feel comfortable in these strange times. Members also had the opportunity to purchase books on local history, many written by Society members and spent over £750, in some cases on books that are long out of print and in others on books just published (such as member
Dr Paul Jennings’ book Working Class Lives in Edwardian Harrogate). Dr Jennings also gave a short and entertaining talk on past Christmases (and very cold winters) in the town.

Society members assembled in glorious sunshine for a guided walk around Pannal. Our luck with the weather continues, as our York Gate Gardens visit was a similarly good day. Our group of 15 included our guide Anne (former Chair of HCS, among her many roles), one founder member of the Society, one of our newest members (who cycled from Harrogate to join us) and an honorary 4 legged member.
Starting in the graveyard of historic St Robert’s of Knaresborough Church, parts of which date from the 13th
century, we were introduced to some of the oldest, long gone, residents and saw the coffin stones installed to deter body snatchers. We progressed up Church Lane noting the few surviving older houses engulfed by
housing development from the 1960s onwards. In the case of Rosehurst (built in 1833) the house was
demolished and the gardens developed as the housing area know as Rosedale. Fortunately Anne
secured Pannal’s first ever Tree Preservation Order in 1969, saving one of its finest trees.
Other points of interest were the Parochial Hall (1887) strangely distant from the Church, the quarry
(which closed in 1927), the many former shops (now private homes) such as the one on Pannal Bridge. One of our group recalled buying sherbet some decades ago from a shop which stood on what is now grass verge by the church car park. This was just one of what were once 13 shops in the village. Set back from the main road are the remains of the Pannal Corn Mill, dating from 1765, though there had been a mill there since the 14th century. It was a working mill until 1947 and the mill wheel can still be seen, as well as a number of mill stones (now acting as garden ornaments). The mill pond survives, owned by the adjoining houses and managed through the Pannal Mill Dam Association.
After more than an hour we had only scratched the surface of the village’s long history. The settlement
is much older than Harrogate, with records of a market here in 1305. Much more can be learned about both Pannal and Burn Bridge from Anne’s latest book (see photo left) which is available from Pannal Post Office.

A report by Angela Fahy.