Introduction

 

This document is an inventory of sources and their location for the history of Harrogate from the earliest known references to the town through to the present day.

 

It is not an inventory in the sense of a listing of all known sources for the history of Harrogate; that would be a huge undertaking. Searches will undoubtedly reveal more sources than it can list. Rather, it seeks:

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1. To identify the location of sources and

2. To list the main types of source and, where relevant, give individual examples

 

It should also be noted here that this is not a guide to using sources in research. There are many available. It also should be noted, finally, that many records, such as the census, and those of schools or hospitals, are subject to a 100-year closure on consultation.

 

Geographical coverage: The area of Harrogate is taken to be that of the 1938 to 1974 Borough of Harrogate, which consisted of the town itself, including Starbeck, and Pannal to the south. The 1974 local government reorganization then included within the Borough nearby towns like Boroughbridge, Knaresborough and Pateley Bridge and the city of Ripon, together with many surrounding villages. It was felt, however, that all those merited their own inventories and, in any case, a further reorganization in 2024 abolished the Borough altogether.

For historical records the picture is complicated by the fact that for much of its history Harrogate was divided for administrative and other purposes. The historic townships which covered the modern area of the town were Bilton with Harrogate and Pannal. Parts of Low Harrogate, around the Royal Pump Room of 1842, were actually in Pannal.

Ecclesiastically, Harrogate historically lay within the parishes of St John the Baptist, Knaresborough and St Robert’s, Pannal, until separate parishes of St John, later Christ Church, was created in 1774 covering Bilton and High Harrogate and in 1825 of St Mary’s at Low Harrogate. In 1858 a parish of St John was created at Bilton and further new parishes for Harrogate followed.

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In 1834, the Poor Law Amendment Act created a Union of parishes and townships which included them but was based in Knaresborough, where the new workhouse was built. Prior to that, Bilton and Pannal had dealt with their own poor.

In 1841, an Improvement Commission was set up covering the central part of modern Harrogate, including the Stray. In 1884 this area became the Borough of Harrogate, extended in 1900 to take in parts of Starbeck, New Park and Oatlands Mount.

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Schools, other than voluntary, church schools, were under the Pannal School Board from 1883, which included Beckwithshaw, and from 1893 Harrogate and Bilton and Starbeck School Boards. In 1900 those three Boards became the Harrogate United School Board, but this in turn was abolished in 1904 when Harrogate became the Local Education Authority for the Borough area. This meant that Pannal and Beckwithshaw schools were within the West Riding County Council area, itself only created in 1889. Pannal came under the Harrogate LEA from 1938.

Finally, for most of its history Harrogate was within the West Riding of Yorkshire but from 1974 in North Yorkshire.

 

Location of sources: The locations of sources may be classified as:

1. Local studies or reference libraries

2. Museums and galleries

3. County archive offices and other archives

4. Institutions such as churches, chapels or schools

5. Local history and similar groups and societies

6. Private individuals

 

In the case of number 3, the online catalogues should be used to find individual sources and their reference numbers. In the cases of 4-6, access to the records described below is subject to the permission of the organization or individual.

 

National Archives:

It should be noted here first that the National Archives at Kew does have some relevant records. An example is the court books of the manor of the Forest of Knaresborough, as much of Harrogate land was copyhold prior to 1925, with conveyances recorded here rather than at Wakefield (see West Yorkshire Archive Service, Wakefield below). There are undoubtedly others. To explore the collection go to https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

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1- REFERENCE LIBRARIES

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Harrogate Library

Although this is a listing of primary sources, it should be stated here that Harrogate Library has an extensive collection of books on all aspects of the history of the town, some of which may also be borrowed. These are included in the North Yorkshire Library Catalogue at https://nylib.spydus.co.uk/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/MSGTRN/OPAC/HOME There is no separate listing of local historical works.

 

Census returns: the Library has the returns for the decennial censuses of 1851 to 1901 on microfilm. Those and, in addition, the returns for the censuses of 1841, 1911 and 1921 are available commercially through Ancestry or Find My Past. However, they may be viewed free of charge in the Library itself.

 

Trade or commercial directories: there is a selection of early nineteenth-century directories which include Harrogate and from the middle of the nineteenth to the late twentieth centuries local directories like those of Armstrong, Robinson and Kelly.

 

Newspapers: there are runs of the Harrogate Advertiser from 1836 to the present, with only a small number of gaps; of the Harrogate Herald from 1847 to 1980, with rather more gaps; and of the Harrogate & Claro Times from 1903-1920. These are on microfilm and not currently available online. The online British Newspaper Archive, available at the Library, does, however, contain news of the town in the Leeds and York newspapers and is searchable by key words.

 

Local government records: of note are the following:

The printed report of the Official Inquiry of 1883 into the proposed Borough of Harrogate and the Text of the Charter of Incorporation of 1884.

Printed bound volumes of the minutes of the various council committees from 1907 to 1990.

Printed bound Reports of the Medical Officer of Health on the Health and Sanitary Condition of the Borough of Harrogate from 1921-1959.

Printed bound Reports of the Education Committee on the Medical Inspection of School Children, 1910-1929.

 

Electoral registers: lists of voters before and after the creation of a Harrogate parliamentary constituency to the present day.

 

Maps: these comprise:

Ordnance Survey maps at various scales from 1853 to the present.

Town and estate plans.

Goad Insurance Plans, 1968-2024.

 

Photographs: a collection of original photographs is indexed by category, comprising businesses, churches, cinemas, gardens and the Stray, hospital and health establishments, ‘other buildings’, schools, streets and theatres.

 

Box Files: These comprise a varied collection of source material which is filed by subject, for which the Library has a full listing. They cover a wide range of subject areas from churches, chapels, schools, shops, hospitals, the spa facilities, hotels and inns, local clubs and societies,  sports, streets and individual places.

In addition, there are biographical details on selected individuals and the Library also has a list of newspaper obituaries by subject and date. There are also biographical details relating to the two World Wars, compiled by Graham Roberts.

 

Malcolm Neesam produced many works on the history of Harrogate. There is a bound typescript copy of transcriptions of sources which he used in the research for his The Harrogate Great Chronicle, 1332-1841 (Carnegie Publishing, 2025). These comprise some of the sources listed here but also include many, for example those of the Duchy of Lancaster, which are not easily accessible. They are catalogued and are also available on the CD-ROM which was provided with the book. The Walker-Neesam Archive itself is located at the Mercer Art Gallery (see below).

 

Walter J. Kaye, Records of Harrogate (1922) comprises transcripts of several sources, particularly the Pannal Parish Accounts.

 

It should be noted, finally, that there is an ongoing process of transfer of primary source material from the Library to North Yorkshire Archives, so it is always advisable to check.

 

Library of the University of Leeds, Special Collections at the Brotherton Library.

Holdings here include the archive of the Harrogate and Londesboro’ Working Men’s Club, 1914-1989 and of local Quakers, comprising the Harrogate Preparative Meeting Minute Book from 1906. Also, there are records of the stewards (Powell, Eddison, Freeman and Wilkes) of the Forest of Knaresborough. Go to https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/1500/special-collections

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2 - MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES

The Royal Pump Room Museum has a collection of artefacts relating to the history of the town, from large items such as a bathchair and the counter of the former Pump Room, and including such things as advertising posters and costumes. Collection items are listed at https://museumdata.uk/museums/q7374242/

 

The Mercer Art Gallery contains work by Harrogate artists, notably W. P. Frith and also works depicting the town in some way. There is a published catalogue of works in the collection: Alistair Smith and Andrew Stewart, The Harrogate Fine Art Collections (Harrogate Museums and Arts in partnership with the Friends of the Mercer Art Gallery, 1999). The collection is also listed at https://museumdata.uk/museums/q26581762/  Also of note are drawings by George R. Walker of Harrogate buildings, many of which were later demolished. There are notes to these by Malcolm Neesam.

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3 - COUNTY ARCHIVE OFFICES AND OTHER ARCHIVES

As noted, prior to local government reorganization in 1974, Harrogate was in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Accordingly, there are many records held in the offices of the West Riding Archive Service at Bradford, Calderdale, Leeds and Wakefield. From 1974 Harrogate has been part of the County of North Yorkshire and many records are held at North Yorkshire Archives at Northallerton. Harrogate Borough Council had transferred some records to NYA but retained others, for example the title deeds to properties purchased for slum clearance. These and all other retained records now come under North Yorkshire Council. Search https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/

 

North Yorkshire Archives:

The catalogue is at: https://archivesunlocked.northyorks.gov.uk/CalmView/default.aspx

There are many records of the various administrative bodies which were eventually superseded by North Yorkshire County, now North Yorkshire, Council. These include:

Bilton with Harrogate Township records.

Harrogate Improvement Commissioners’ and Borough Council Minutes.

Minutes of individual council committees.

Rate books and valuations.

Records of the Knaresborough Poor Law Union, which covered the Harrogate district.

Records of the Harrogate Burial Board.

Coroner’s papers of deaths in Harrogate.

Records of the Harrogate School Board and the Harrogate Education Committee.

Records of particular schools, comprising Bilton Endowed, Bilton Council (later New Park) and St Peter’s Church of England and the Municipal Secondary School, later Harrogate Grammar School.

 

Church and chapel records, including also the registers of christenings, marriages and burials for several churches.

 

Maps and plans, including for example, a plan of the Mansfield House Estate from c. 1867 and those relating to the Royal Baths, or of railways. Of note is an Aerial Panorama of Harrogate showing public gardens by C. E. Rivers, Borough Engineer, 1920s.

 

Estate and family papers: those, for example, of the Swinton Castle estate in Wensleydale contain records of the removal of Harrogate (Ladies’) College, now DuchyColege, there during the Second World War, or those of the Cundall family of Pannal.

 

Societies and other organizations: examples are the records of the Harrogate Medical Society or the National Union of Teachers.

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West Yorkshire Archive Service:

The catalogue is at https://www.wyjs.org.uk/archive-service/our-collections/search-our-catalogue/

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Bradford:

Maps and plans: examples include a sale catalogue of the Bilton House Estate with plan, 1899, or regarding land around the Harlow Hill Inn.

 

Estate and family papers, for example of  the Paley family of Oatlands, relating to property in Harrogate, of the Jowett family, including to the Sulphur Water Estate in 1817 and a schedule of title deeds to the Willaston House Estate (where the hospital now stands).

 

Societies and other organizations: for example, the records of the Harrogate & District Co-operative Society, 1883-1893, the Yorkshire Group of Artists or of Roger’s Almshouses.

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Calderdale:

Overall fewer relevant records but including:

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Property records, including a prospectus for the Cairn Hydropathic Company, of 1901 or one for the St James’ Park Estate, also of 1901; title of the Beechwood Hotel, Queen’s Road, 1899-1913.

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Societies and other organizations, for example, records of the Harrogate Home for Mothers and Babies, 1949.

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Leeds:

Church and chapel records: these relate to churches within the Archdeaconry of Ripon and the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds and include parish registers. There are also records of the Harrogate Hebrew Congregations, and of Church House, 1886-1995.

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Estate and family papers: for example, relating to the Elmwood Estate (also where the hospital now stands) or that of Binns Hotel, Cold Bath Road. The records of several estate agents contain documents relating to Harrogate properties. Important family papers are those of the Ingleby, Lascelles and Radcliffe families, of the Greenwoods of Swarcliffe Hall and of the Myers family, including on Pannal Gold Club.

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Wakefield:

West Riding Quarter Sessions Records: these include indictments, licensing of alehouses, records relating to infrastructure projects like gas, electricity, bridges and railways; and also royal visits.

 

West Riding County Council: formed in 1889, this body retained important local governmental functions for Harrogate, which included the police, education, including local schools, and asylums. The latter includes records of the Pauper Lunatic Asylums at Stanley Royd, Wakefield and High Royds, Menston.

 

Royal Forest of Knaresborough, which covered the Harrogate area: there are relevant records here and in Bradford and Leeds.

 

Registry of Deeds: contains memorials (shortened versions) of property transactions in indentures, conveyances and mortgages between 1704 and 1974 for the whole West Riding. They are indexed.

 

Societies and other organizations: for example, records of the Northern Police Orphanage and Convalescent Home on Harlow Moor Road, 1942-1961 or the Harrogate Bulb Show, 1960-1978.

 

Other archives:

 

Walker-Neesam Archive:

The Walker-Neesam Archive, put together by the late Malcolm Neesam, is housed at the Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate. It consists of transcriptions of original documents, such as those of the Duchy of Lancaster, not easily accessible, and some primary material, for example, an admission register for Christ Church School. The collection is currently being catalogued. It is open to the public by appointment. The curator of the collection is Danielle Little: Danielle.Little@northyorks.gov.uk

 

 

4 - INSTITUTIONS SUCH AS CHURCHES, CHAPELS OR SCHOOLS

 

Churches and chapels: a number of local churches and chapels retain registers of baptisms and marriages and other records, for example St Wilfrid’s, Duchy Road, Harlow Hill Free Methodist Church, the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Oxford Street and Trinity Wesleyan Chapel.

 

Schools: from 1862 schools in receipt of government grant were required to keep a log book. Many local schools retain these at the school, including Grove Road Community Primary School, Oatlands Infant School, Pannal Primary School, St Robert’s Catholic Primary School, Starbeck Primary Academy and Western Primary School. More rarely, admission registers and punishment books survive, the latter at Oatland Infant School and Pannal Primary School. Of the many private schools which once there were in Harrogate, Ashville and Harrogate Ladies’ College, now the Duchy College, Harrogate, have archives, the latter including an admission register.

 

5 - LOCAL HISTORY AND SIMILAR GROUPS AND SOCIETIES

 

There are undoubtedly many more of these than I list here but examples include:

 

Bilton Historical Society has transcribed local records, including census returns, trade directories and  the log book of Bilton Grange School, formerly Skipton Road Council School. Its website is at http://www.biltonhistoricalsociety.org.uk/

 

Harrogate Film Society retains records of its activities and has a website at https://www.harrogatefilmsociety.org/

 

Harrogate Civic Society retains records of its activities. Its website is at https://www.harrogatecivicsociety.org/ This also contains short summaries of books and sources on Harrogate history.

 

6 - PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS

 

There are undoubtedly many more of these than I list here.

 

Terry-Mike Williams has put together an archive of the history of the New Park district of Harrogate, some of which is housed at the New Park Heritage Centre at New Park School. He may be contacted at williamsterrymike3@gmail.com

 

Anne Smith of Pannal has sources relating to the history of the village, including of Pannal Ash College, a private school. She may be contacted at anne.smith.pannal@gmail.com

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        Author :  Paul Jennings, September 2026