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.

School-children “Digging for Victory”, led by Tom Wright, Pannal Old School headmaster. A faded black-and-white image of older girls cooking school dinner on a steaming stove while the younger ones studied the blackboard, all in the same Pannal classroom. A 1949 group photo of the 1st Pannal Boy Scouts, including a very young Mike Hine (“Mr Harrogate”). And the elegant Rosehurst mansion, before its demolition in 1969.

These are just a few of the striking images, many unique and unpublished, that over thirty Civic Society members got a chance to see during a most fascinating talk given by Anne Smith - long-time resident of Pannal, local historian, prolific blogger, and former Harrogate Civic Society chair (amongst other accreditations!).

Held in the chapter house of St Robert’s church in the village, members were treated not to a formal history lecture, but to an intriguing and often amusing blend of our speaker's personal memories and anecdotes of Pannal life over six decades, and of some of the characters who have lived there. We also learnt much about Pannal's heritage buildings: many long gone, others remodelled, and some still standing and put to new uses such as the Oddfellows, now Memorial, Hall.

We heard of Anne’s efforts to obtain in the village Harrogate’s first tree preservation order; of the mid-nineteenth century owner of the Bay Horse Inn choosing to have it closed down for being “too rowdy”; and we saw old images of some of the thirteen shops that existed when our speaker moved into the village. We were told of the dismay of body-snatchers in the 1830s who dug up a cadaver from St Robert’s churchyard, only to find it too decomposed to sell.

After viewing over fifty slides in a lively and fast-moving one-hour talk, members were able to collect a cup of tea and a biscuit and then be guided by Anne around parts of the graveyard and inside the church, asking questions and learning more on the way; or could chat with other members in small groups. Some were content just to take a seat outside in the balmy, humid, afternoon air; and a few strolled off at the end to investigate some of the sites and buildings that had been covered in the talk.

The Civic Society is grateful to Anne for so generously sharing her knowledge and insights at this most informative and entertaining event, and to St Robert’s church for kindly welcoming and hosting us.

Report by: Kevin Hales

Thirteen members of the Civic Society met at Yorkshire Water’s Education Centre for a fascinating presentation and tour of the treatment facility.

YWA manages 28,000 hectares of land to protect water quality from source to sea. There are 133 reservoirs across Yorkshire and 48 treatment plants serving 2million homes, 140,000 businesses (5 million customers) with 1.3 billion litres of water per day. This amounts to £1 billion of water bills per year! Reservoirs provide 45% of water, rivers 33% and ground water 22%.

YWA also deals with waste water through sewers both small and very large. There are 611 waste water treatment works. These separate solids from liquids, the methane gas released powers generators, the sludge is processed and can be spread on land and the liquid is cleaned and returned to the water course.

YWA is a private company and is tested and audited by many regulators all overseen by DEFRA.

We had an excellent informative and accessible presentation of the impurities in water and how they are eradicated. There are algae, bacteria, cyclops, daphnea, debris, herbicides, pesticides, peat and protozoa, all needing different treatments. These were explained and well illustrated from screening, flocculator, dissolved air flotation tank, rapid activity sand filter, ozone, granular activated carbon filter, contact tank and finally into a service reservoir at the rate of 90 million litres a day.

We then had a tour round the works to view these processes in action - we’ll never look at a cappuccino in the same way again!

The final presentation informed us of the 25 year plan for YWA. No new reservoirs are planned but more water will come from river abstraction and groundwater. We all need to reduce usage and grey water systems need to be developed eg. by incorporating into new housing developments. Some of the pipes (which in the YWA area would stretch twice round the world) have been in use since 1840, and more money needs to be invested into plugging leaks.

We ended with a little test of what we had learned which the majority passed with flying colours!

Jenny Moore (Events team)

When I was growing up in Harrogate in the 1950s I remember French Week and how exotic and foreign it seemed. In those days travel abroad was not a feature in many people’s lives! I was reminded of this when looking at the beautiful photos that Mike Newby showed us to accompany his most interesting presentation on town twinning.

Harrogate has four international twinning partnerships all of which reached significant anniversaries last year, 2023. Bagneres de Luchon, 1953, Montecatini Terme, 1963, Wellington 1953 and Barrie 2013.

The twinning with Luchon sprang out of the postwar bilingual movement. Local headteacher and councillor Don Costelow was an enthusiastic supporter and Alfred Coste-Fleurel, mayor of Luchon was secretary-general of the Association of the Bilingual World at the time. Quite how and when they met is lost in the mists of time, but somehow the connection was made. Luchon, like Harrogate is a spa and floral town. Not all in Harrogate were enthusiastic and there were questions from the Harrogate Advertiser as to the value and purpose of this and the ensuing French Weeks. There were French fashion shows, films and exhibitions which of course were good opportunities to publicise the town. Over the years there have been reciprocal visits from dignitaries and organisations from both towns and Harrogate even had its own float in the annual Fete des Fleurs in Luchon.

Harrogate’s second sister city is Wellington, capital of New Zealand. The link was formed through association of the two towns following the Second World War. New Zealand aircraft crew were based in and around Harrogate and 23 who lost their lives are buried at Stonefall Cemetery, 4 of them from Wellington. James R. Ogden & Sons of Harrogate crafted a mace bearing the coat of arms of both councils and this was given by Harrogate Borough Council to Wellington City Council in 1954. There is a New Zealand garden within the Valley Gardens which celebrates the friendship and commemorates the dead. Many of the plants came from New Zealand and the Deputy Mayor of Wellington came for the formal opening. The garden has been refurbished twice, in 2010 and 2023, with more plants, carvings and sculptures from New Zealand. Harrogate International Partnership has organised ceremonies at Stonefall Cemetery to commemorate Anzac Day.

Montecatini Terme in Italy is an Etruscan hill town and spa which twinned with Harrogate in the early 1960s. As with Luchon this twinning was aimed at promoting an exchange of language and culture. There were several Italian Weeks with fashion shows, concerts, exhibitions and even a waiters’ race down Parliament Street! In 1966 the Italian ambassador paid a visit and attended a concert by the Halle Orchestra conducted by Sir John Barbirolli. I remember my parents going, but I was rather more interested in a different kind of music at the time!

Harrogate’s final twin is Barrie in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is named after Sir Robert Barrie who commanded forces across the region during the Anglo-American war of 1812. His connection to the Harrogate district, through his marriage to Lady Julia Ingilby, led to the twinning of the two towns in 2013. He is buried at Ripley where there is a church window in commemoration. At the Spring Flower Show in 2023 there was a specially designed Community Garden organised by Harrogate International Partnership which was visited by the Mayor of Barrie.

In recent years there has been a revival of interest in the twinning scheme and our sister cities are set to be represented in Harrogate’s floral summer of celebration displays.
Harrogate BID has launched a new International Work Experience grant for staff from member businesses to travel to our twins and learn more about working in other countries.
Harrogate International Partnerships was formed in 2017 to provide a structure for developing awareness and opportunities for exchange visits and to provide support for twinning groups.
The success of twinning relies on the enthusiasm of individuals, all of whom are volunteers. If you would like to know more look at the website https://harrogatetwinning.org/ or talk to our Civic Society committee members Michael Newby and Paul Fennimore.

Jenny Moore (Events team)

Many of us associate Victoria Avenue with the library, and we may know Tower Street mainly for its two handy carparks. But on 5 June, 35 Harrogate Civic Society members learnt a great deal more about both, as they were led by Dr Paul Jennings on his brand new “Harrogate Contrasts” history tour.

Both walks were over-subscribed. I joined the afternoon group, and members’ enthusiasm was such that we were assembled and ready to go three minutes early. The sun shone, the wind blew, and umbrellas were at the ready.

Paul began by explaining the origins of Victoria Avenue, including the 1906 Carnegie library. Crossing into Belford Road, we heard about the infirmary building, now a school; and facing it, Rogers’ almshouses, originally for twelve widows or spinsters from Harrogate or Bradford of - as our guide delicately put it - “high moral character”.

Tower Street contrasted starkly with Victoria Avenue in its development. We were told of long-gone pubs, often with rooms for visitors, transient labourers and coachmen; prostitution, fights, drunk and disorderly behaviour; back-to-back housing (rare in Harrogate); neat gardens that became parking spaces in front of terraces of workers’ cottages; and the coincidence of today’s budget Travelodge being on the site of yesterday’s budget lodging houses.

Turning into West Park, the contrasts struck us again when we assembled outside the magnificent Belvedere mansion; then across to the former Congregational Church to inspect the twelve heads on the south wall, heroes of the Nonconformists of the time, from Bunyan to Wesley; and ending outside another splendid house, Vanderbilt Court.

Our hour together was relaxed and sociable, there was plenty of time to ask questions, and some members had anecdotes and insights to share, which added further to our knowledge.

None of us could have departed still of the view that the two roads are just a library and carparks!

The society’s grateful thanks go to Dr Jennings for preparing and hosting the walks.

On 21 May, an audience of over 50 members heard Charlotte Simons and Sarah Lonsdale talk about the work of the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust. Charlotte is the Senior Project Manager at the Trust and Sarah, who recently joined from the North York Moors National Park Authority, is the Project Manager (river enhancement).

The Trust covers a very wide area including the catchments of the Swale, Ure, Nidd, Wharfe and Ouse and associated tributaries. While Charlotte manages the establishment of partnerships across the whole region, Sarah’s work focusses particularly on the Nidd and Swale catchments.

Charlotte explained the many factors involved in river management, restoration and conservation. She described her role which involves coordination with all the businesses and organisations having a stake in the management of rivers, as well as an educational programme, working with schools and local communities.

River management includes dry weather measures as well as flood protection measures. These include returning parts of a river to a more natural winding course and other measures to slow the flow during high rainfall events. Restoration includes removing tonnes of invasive non-native species such as Himalayan Balsam and Japanese Knotweed.

Closer to home, Sarah described the work on the Nidd and its many tributaries, including Oak Beck, Bilton Beck, Hookstone Beck, Crimple Beck and the river Crimple. This has been subsumed within a project called iNidd which sets out to investigate all the issues affecting the Nidd and develop solutions, including, importantly, raising the funding to carry out the work. YRDT works alongside community groups such as the Nidd Action Group (NAG) to monitor pollution incidents and help restore and protect the river quality.

NAG's two major water quality surveys in 2023 identified a number of Nidd Catchment pollution hotspots. The group will now focus on the sources of this pollution and its effects on wildlife habitats, working with volunteers to ensure that local concerns for improvement are met with appropriate actions.

More information on the work of the YDRT can be found on their website: https://www.ydrt.org.uk/about-us/
More information on the Nidd Action Group can be found here: https://www.niddactiongroup.org/