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On Sunday 22 June eighteen Society members visited the impressive Victorian cemetery at Undercliffe, Bradford. History Group member, Paul Jennings, who led the visit writes. We assembled at the Lodge of the cemetery a fine and breezy Sunday morning for our visit. We first heard an introduction from John Jackson of the Cemetery Charity on the story of how the cemetery was rescued from potentially wholesale destruction by Bradford Council's compulsory purchase of the site and the fantastic work of restoration and continuing management undertaken by the Charity. I then conducted a guided tour of some of the monuments dating from its Victorian heyday when thousands of Bradfordians were buried there, from the great and good to more humble citizens: the town's first Mayor Robert Milligan beneath the tallest monument, to the landlord of the Unicorn Inn, whose granite headstone has a little unicorn carved into it. I also included some graves of people with Harrogate connections, of which there are several, including one with the most impressive location with a spectacular view over the city of Bradford. There is buried Gertrude Smith, whose tragic death I described in a piece for the Society website in the Articles section of the History page. See https://www.harrogatecivicsociety.org/historypeopleindex/people05

Our thanks to the Charity volunteers for their hospitality, including refreshments, and for making possible a fascinating visit for a modest donation of £5 each.

The photos show the group by the Lodge and again inspecting some of the monuments, including to the right one of six listed, that of the Behrens family and in the far distance at the end of the main avenue, the Smith family obelisk. Our host, John Jackson, is wearing the hat.


Paul Jennings

Our May meeting on the Walker-Neesam Archive was a truly special evening.

Held at St Paul’s URC on Tuesday evening, over 70 Civic Society members and guests were in attendance as Danielle Little, Curatorial Apprentice at Harrogate Museums presented on the value and sheer scale of Malcolm Neesam’s collection.

It began with a heartfelt personal tribute from Henry Pankhurst, sharing touching memories of his friendship with Malcolm.

Danielle Little, then provided a remarkable insight into Malcolm's legacy. We learned about the vast scale of the archive with over 150,000 items including extensive photographs and historical documents from century-old music programmes and handwritten scores by local composers to personal correspondence and detailed notes on every aspect of Harrogate. This archive isn't just boxes full of paper; it's the living memory of our town, meticulously gathered by Malcolm.

Danielle also explained the meticulous cataloguing process, and the exciting plans to make this treasure trove of Harrogate's history accessible to all. The ultimate goal is to make this entire resource publicly accessible online, allowing everyone to delve into Harrogate's past like never before.

It's inspiring to know this vital collection is being carefully preserved for future generations. We encourage you to keep an eye on updates regarding this exciting project!

A huge thank you to Danielle for her engaging presentation and to everyone who attended!

We are proud to support such a vital initiative for Harrogate's heritage

On 11 April at the West Park Centre over 100 members and guests heard a fascinating talk on the Harrogate Egyptian Collection by Dr Ken Griffin who is the curator of the Egypt Centre at Swansea University.

The Collection of more than 800 objects is currently on loan to Swansea for cataloguing and research. Part of the collection was previously displayed at the Royal Pump Room Museum. The title of the talk, Causing their Names to Live, derives from a common Egyptian expression found on monuments dedicated to deceased relatives.

Harrogate’s museum is one of many regional museums with a collection of Egyptian antiquities. The objects were primarily donated by two local collectors, Benjamin William John Kent (1885–1968) and James Robert Ogden (1866–1940), who had assembled their collections in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

As the Harrogate collection had been largely understudied, the curators thought this might be an opportunity to send it to Swansea on loan. Discussions took place, and May Catt, Visitor & Cultural Services Manager, visited the Egypt Centre in September 2022 to see the museum and our storage. Impressed with the facilities and resources in Swansea, discussions progressed, loan agreements were drawn up, objects were removed from display, carefully packed and transferred.

On Tuesday 28 February 2023, over 800 objects arrived in Swansea from Harrogate Museums, where they are remaining on loan for three years. During this time, the collection is being researched, displayed, and
presented online, making the objects more accessible to Egyptologists and the wider public.

How and why Messrs Kent and Ogden formed their collections are two of the main questions this project
hopes to answer. In the case of Benjamin Kent, much of his collection was inherited from his father,
Bramley Benjamin Kent (1848–1924). Many of the objects were acquired from the local Harrogate dealers, J.E. & E.K. Preston, whose premises were on Montpellier Parade. Less is known about the formation of J.R. Ogden’s collection, although we do know that he received donations from Harold Plenderleith (1898–1997), Sir Henry Sutcliffe Smith (1864–1938) amongst others. He also acquired some of his objects from S. G.
Fenton & Co., a London dealer in antiquities and armour. It is also likely that Ogden bought from J. E. & E. K. Preston, who he seems to have known.

The objects are quite diverse and includes stelae, statues, pottery, stone vessels, shabtis, amulets, canopic jars, a coffin, funerary cones, mummy masks, jewellery, papyrus, terracotta figures, and many more object types. There is even a few non-Egyptian items that arrived, including Etruscan mirrors and a large collection of cuneiform tablets, bricks, and cylinder seals. Perhaps the most famous object in the collection is the Anubis mask.

Much more information on this collection can be seen on https://harrogate.abasetcollections.com/
from which some of this article has been sourced.

Over 40 members attended the 2025 Annual General Meeting of the Harrogate Civic Society held on 2 April at the West Park Centre.

Angela Fahy reports:

The Chair, Mike Newby, welcomed members to the meeting and began by inviting Stuart Holland to give a short presentation about the West Park Centre, its history as a church and the plans for its future development.

After the formal approval of the 2024 minutes the Chair presented the Trustees Annual Report. He recorded the many successful events and trips that had been held during the past year. The events subgroup had been co-ordinated by Angela Fahy for many years and, as she was now stepping down from the committee there was an urgent need for a new co-ordinator to work with the existing team of volunteers or the Society’s programme of events was in jeopardy. Also recognised was the hard work of Stella and Geoff Brown for their organisation of the Heritage Open Days that are supported by the Society. Chris Dicken was thanked for his leadership of the Plaques subgroup, which he will continue although he is stepping down from the Committee; also Henry Pankhurst and the team for their work on the regular monitoring of planning applications. David Siddans was thanked for the work of the communications group and so were all members who are involved with the work on the Neighbourhood Plan, which the Society has led together with Zero Carbon Harrogate. Thanks also to those involved with the History subgroup; the town’s history being one of the key reasons why many new members join the Society. One future possibility is for there to be new opportunities to share in conversations about different aspects of the town’s history. In relation to the finance section of the report, Paul Fennimore reported a healthy state of affairs and highlighted the substantial surplus income that had been received as a result of Harrogate on Film, which would be unlikely to reoccur. Also, some gifts that had been received for new plaques were currently being held by the Society until payment was due. The Trustees Annual Report was approved by the meeting.

Election of Officers and Committee
The Chair thanked both Angela Fahy and Chris Dicken, who were stepping down from the committee. Also, thanks to Andrew Brown for his time as interim chair of the Society and to Paul Fennimore for taking over as treasurer. He also acknowledged the valuable contribution of Brian Dunsby who, together with his wife Beryl, had been doing excellent work as the Society’s membership secretary until Brian’s sudden death in January.

The New Committee
Michael Newby (Chair)
Andrew Brown (Vice Chair)
Nick Brennan (Secretary)
Paul Fennimore (Treasurer)
Henry Pankhurst
David Siddans
Michael Laycock
Tony Thorndike

With no new nominations received in time for the AGM, the Chair reminded the meeting that the committee could co-opt new members during the year.

On March 11th, Harrogate Civic Society welcomed Nicola Pullan, Assistant Curator of Social History at Leeds Museums, to delve into the remarkable life of Leonora Cohen. The event, timed to coincide with International Women's Day and Women's History Month, drew a large and engaged audience eager to learn more about this influential suffragette.

Nicola's presentation, drawn from extensive research in the Leonora Cohen archive at Leeds Museums, painted a vivid portrait of a woman who defied expectations. From her early life in Leeds, where she witnessed firsthand the inequalities faced by women, to her pivotal role in the suffrage movement, Leonora Cohen's story is one of unwavering dedication to social justice.

The talk explored Leonora's involvement in key events of the suffrage campaign, including her arrests, her hunger strikes, and her daring actions, such as the Tower of London protest. Nicola also shed light on Leonora's time in Harrogate, where she ran a vegetarian boarding house that provided refuge for fellow suffragettes, including the elusive Lillian Lenton.

Nicola’s presentation went beyond the well-known narratives of the suffrage movement, highlighting the vital contributions of women like Leonora Cohen, who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to drive change.
The evening concluded with a lively Q&A session, where Nicola answered questions about Leonora's life, her activism, and the broader context of the suffrage movement.

Harrogate Civic Society extends its sincere thanks to Nicola Pullan for her insightful presentation and to all who attended for their enthusiastic participation.

Our February meeting proved to be a resounding success, thanks to a captivating presentation by Elizabeth Smith from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. With almost 50 attendees, the event generated a great deal of interest in the history and vital work of the CWGC.

Elizabeth shared fascinating insights into the Commission's origins, its work during both World Wars, and its ongoing commitment to commemorating and caring for the graves of 1.7 million Commonwealth war dead.
The sheer scale of the CWGC's global reach, with war graves and memorials maintained in 153 countries, is truly impressive.

We extend our sincere thanks to Elizabeth for sharing her expertise with us, and to everyone who attended and contributed to such an engaging and informative evening.

The evening raised over £150 in donations for the CWGC's work.

We encourage you to learn more about this important work by visiting the CWGC website
https://www.cwgc.org/ or exploring the CWGC sites closer to home, such as Stonefall Cemetery on Wetherby Road in Harrogate.

What a fantastic turnout for our January meeting yesterday evening!
A huge thank you to everyone who braved the cold to join us for Chris Dicken's insightful presentation on Harrogate's Heritage Plaques. We were delighted to share this fascinating aspect of our town's history with you.

Chris, Chair of our Plaques subgroup, took us on a captivating journey through the history of the plaques, explaining their unique characteristics, the process of creating and installing them, and the diverse range of subjects they commemorate. We learned about the importance of the plaques as a tangible representation of Harrogate's rich heritage, and how they provide concise and interesting historical information to residents and visitors alike.

Did you know that Harrogate boasts 94 unique plaques, each one commemorating a significant person or place? Each plaque offers a glimpse into our town’s past, from our spa heritage and grand hotels to local heroes and famous visitors.

We encourage you to explore these gems for yourself. Chris has spearheaded the development of some fantastic online resources for the plaques, including our dedicated Harrogate Heritage Plaques website (harrogateplaques.org), which has an interactive map and trails. There’s even an Android app to guide your discovery. It's a wonderful way to learn about Harrogate's history and appreciate the work we do to preserve it.

Thank you again to Chris for his dedication to this project and for sharing his expertise with us. And a special thanks to all our members and volunteers who make events like this possible.
Zach Greaves (Artus Digital Marketing)

Our ever popular Christmas social gathering took place in St Wilfrid's Church Hall on December 15th. More than 70 members enjoyed wine, mince pies and an entertaining short talk on "Gin and the English" from Dr Paul Jennings (member and social historian). Paul also ran the book stall, with donated books raising funds for St Michael's Hospice. Chairman Michael Newby's few words (he showed great restraint!) highlighted the very busy and successful year that we have had, including Heritage Open Days, and thanked the members who give their time to organise events, and without whom these events would not happen.

Angela Fahy writes:

On 19 November a full house of members and guests gathered to hear Robert Ogden recount the story of his family’s long involvement in the commercial, civil and cultural life of Harrogate. While the family business, established by James Ogden, began as a grocers it wasn’t long before James saw the opportunities in selling fine jewellery and silver tableware to the residents and visitors in the town- setting up “The Little Diamond Shop” shop in 1893. In the first week of business a pocket watch was sold, which on the owner’s death was bought back by Ogdens and is on display in the James Street shop. Many of the display cases remain from the original shop. Soon there were branches of Ogdens in Bath and Scarborough as well as other towns. JRO (as he was known) mastered advertising quickly - in 1911 making a silver tea service to be awarded to the best UK competitor in the Round Britain flying race, and sponsoring a banner to honour the Lord Mayor of London’s visit to Harrogate- welcoming him to “the London of the North”.

The First World war saw all four of his sons set off to fight. The youngest, Walter, was trained as a tank commander but killed in 1917. Touched by the plight of refugees arriving in England James set up the Belgian Refugee Committee in Harrogate, and opened his home as a reception centre for them.

The war and its aftermath affected many businesses and Ogden branches were closed, continuing only in Harrogate, but as economic recovery began a branch was opened in Duke Street in London, closing only in the 1980s. James and his three surviving sons had all agreed not to set up competing businesses but this did not prevent one opening a shop, under his own name, in the Burlington Arcade in London. While this caused a big falling out at the time the next generation of Ogdens are on much better terms with their cousins.

With the business now well established JRO could indulge his real passion- archaeology, and in particular the study of Ancient Egypt. He corresponded with Harold Carter and the Earl of Carnarvon as they explored the pyramids, and he was invited to Egypt for the opening of Tutankhamun’s tomb as his expertise in gold work and gemstones would be relied on to study the stunning finds. As items from the tombs were brought to the British Museum he was also engaged to identify and value them. He also acquired various artefacts himself, which he bequeathed to Harrogate Museum and are currently at Swansea University being studied and catalogued. Here is a link to it: Rediscovering Egypt: The Harrogate Egyptian Collection - Collections Trust.

JRO gave many lectures on Egyptology, raising £40,000 to support the work at the pyramids. In one lecture he reported the true story that the steps to Tutankhamun’s tomb had been found not by Carter but by a young Egyptian boy. This caused a major falling out after Carter, keen to claim the discovery for himself, threatened to sue him. This did not stop JRO’s interest as he continued to correspond with the husband and wife archaeologists the Wooleys- who famously introduced Agatha Christie to her second husband when she visited them in Egypt.

Robert’s talk was illustrated throughout with many slides showing images of artefacts, original correspondence, newspaper articles, and of family members - including a one-second movie-clip of JRO himself, at a garden party in the grounds of the Majestic Hotel to celebrate the coronation of George VI.

We learnt of the rise in popularity in the 1920s of pearls - which at the time became more valuable than diamonds - and that Ogdens made and sold for £50,000 (up to £5 million in today’s money) one string of all-natural pearls. And we heard of failed and thwarted robberies, and of bandits and con artists that the business had encountered and repelled over the years. Images were shown of filmings in the James Street premises, including of “Agatha” in 1972, and of “Emmerdale" stars acting out a jewels theft.

The audience was left with the broadest of insights into a most fascinating family history and family business, and the society is grateful to Robert for being so generous with his time to share the story with us.

Henry Pankhurst summarises the talk:

As Paul suggested, planning is a very complex topic in which even the professionals are selective of the areas they work in. Civic Society members may guess that Paul’s subject was well chosen for me! He is well qualified to educate us in the mysteries of the planning system, having had a career in surveying and as a planning officer. Although retired, he is keenly offering his experience and expertise towards producing a Neighbourhood Plan for Harrogate. A Forum of 60 members has been established due to Paul’s efforts, along with our previous chairman Stuart Holland. This work should feed into Harrogate Town Council from April 2025.

The question, Paul said, is ‘What does one need to know about planning?’ Answer, ‘The trick is to know what you don’t know!’.

History
To set the scene he began with a little history. Town Planning began in 1906 with the garden city movement to create new towns, followed in 1909 by the Housing and Town Planning Act, which brought an end to back-to-back housing. Other Acts followed throughout the 20th Century that obliged local authorities to produce town planning schemes, undertake preservation of buildings, control of development via planning permission and so on. Governments like to change/modify/simplify the planning rules. We were reminded that in 2010 wholesale changes were made. Regional planning strategies were abolished. Also, Planning Policy Guidance notes (PPGs) on various types of development were made redundant, in favour of the
National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). According to Paul, nothing really changes, and we still have a staggering collection of legal documents.

A new North Yorkshire Local Plan
North Yorkshire’s district councils are now abolished including Harrogate’s. All parish and town councils in the former Harrogate District remain, but Harrogate is an unparished area, hence the push to revive a Harrogate Town Council. Now that the County has changed/extended duties, a new Local Plan (LP) is required and Paul gave us the timetable. Stage 1 (2023/24) is gathering information and evidence along with engagement on important issues. Stage 2 (2024) is consultation on the scope of the LP, and investigating potential development sites. Paul says that the timetable has already slipped, these stages being far from
completion. The process continues to Stage 6 (2028) which is adoption. A question was asked about public comments on the Local Plan. These are noted but not necessarily acted upon. Paul says that all comments are listed with reasons if they are ignored. We were however strongly encouraged to take part in the Local Plan process.

Increased Housing Targets
Another question was ‘How are housing figures arrived at?’ It seems that a countrywide total comes from feeding various needs into the calculation, which is then apportioned between local authorities according to population etc., rather than an ability to absorb the increase in dwellings.

A most interesting evening with a very attentive audience.

Paul Jennings writes:

About 40 Society members gathered at a rather chilly St John’s Church, Bilton on September 25th for what proved to be a fascinating evening. Member Alan Gould, secretary and treasurer of the Bilton Historical Society, took us first on a guided tour of the church and then gave us a talk on its third vicar from 1868 to 1873, John Sheepshanks, the son of its first incumbent, Thomas.

John Sheephsanks, one of an important family in the history of Harrogate, turned out to be a most interesting character. He was a graduate of Christ’s, Cambridge, Charles Darwin’s old college. He began his clerical career under the celebrated Dr Hook of Leeds parish church. Between 1859 and 1867 he undertook missionary work in the far west of Canada, where he showed great sympathy with the indigenous peoples who were suffering the effects of a settler invasion. From there he journeyed westwards across the Pacific, taking in Hong Kong, where he visited opium dens. He continued across Siberia, where he witnessed the sorry spectacle of manacled prisoners, to St Petersburg, Germany and then home. After Bilton, he was vicar of St Margaret’s, Anfield in Liverpool, a tough area ridden with sectarian strife. He eventually became Bishop of Norwich from 1893 to 1910, dying two years later. He wrote a number of books, including on his world travels.

His daughter, Mary, was also a woman of interest, a committed socialist, pacifist, internationalist and suffragist and a son, Thomas, was a senior civil servant at the time of the birth of the NHS in 1948. I did rather feel for John’s wife, Margaret, the daughter of a Thirsk doctor and eighteen years his junior, who bore him seventeen children. According to Mary, who also wrote of the family’s ‘austere’ home life, she was ‘swamped’ by child rearing and suffered throughout their marriage from nervous disorders. She was thus like a number of Victorian women married to talented, energetic and driven men like John, or David Livingstone, for example, whose wife sought comfort in drink, who found life a struggle.

I left the evening having been wholly absorbed in Alan’s excellent presentation and determined especially to read more about Mary.

Thanks to Jenny and Kevin for providing the refreshments and helping to set things up.

If you are interested to learn more about the work of Bilton Historical Society please visit http://www.biltonhistoricalsociety.org.uk/

On Thursday 15th August we set off for our private tour of Markenfield Hall. Our guide was Markenfield volunteer Theresa who kept us enthralled for nearly 2 hours by telling is the story of this medieval moated house through the lens of the tumultuous history of the North of England. From modest house appearing in the Doomsday Book (1086), to being moated and crenelated, a centre for the (not very successful) Rising of the North in 1569, to confiscation and falling into ruin, to being restored- we heard it all and were rewarded with tea and cake around the blazing fire. It was August after all.