Upcoming Events

All Harrogate Civic Society members are invited to meet for informal coffees / drinks / chats / etc.

Purely a social get-together. No agenda, so speeches, no Q&A session, no fixed start/end time. Instead, just a chance to get to chat with other society members - new and old - in a casual, relaxed environment. Self-pay for eats-n-drinks, normal town-centre prices.

Turn up any time from 10:00am to 12:00pm. New members are especially welcome. And do bring along anyone who’s considering joining the society.

In 2023, over 800 Egyptian artefacts from Harrogate Museums arrived at the Egypt Centre, Swansea University, for a three-year collaborative project. This initiative aims to revitalise the collection through research, creating an online catalogue, and illuminating its acquisition history. Crucially, the project focuses on deciphering and publishing the names of associated ancient Egyptians, fulfilling the ancient aspiration of "causing their names to live."

This talk will present an overview of the collection, along with the background of the two local collectors, Benjamin Kent and James Roberts Ogden, who gifted it to Harrogate.

Dr Ken Griffin currently serves as the Curator of the Egypt Centre at Swansea University. Over the past two decades, he has dedicated himself to researching and promoting the collection. His passion for the subject has led him to visit Egypt over 60 times, and since 2010, he has actively participated in archaeological fieldwork in both Egypt and Sudan.

Danielle Little – Curatorial Apprentice at Harrogate Museums

Danielle Little joined Harrogate Museums in September 2023 and has since been managing the Walker Neesam Archive. Bequeathed to Harrogate Museums on Malcolm Neesam’s passing in 2022, the WNA contains decades worth of Malcolm’s collecting and research, all of which Danielle is organising and cataloguing so that it can be available for public use.

This talk will explore the way the WNA is being managed, how the WNA will be made publicly accessible, and take a look at some of the more interesting items that have been uncovered so far.

Danielle has a BA in History of Art and Heritage Management, an MA in Classical Archaeology, and is currently undertaking an MA in Curating at Teesside University.

7.00 pm for refreshments with a presentation at 7.30 pm on West Park URC church

A new lease of life for a Heritage Building-this former Congregational Church which was built to welcome up to 700 visitors to the town and is being repurposed as a Community Hub providing, in addition to a new worship area, performance spaces, exhibition space, meeting rooms as well as a semi permanent exhibition telling "The Harrogate Story".

The AGM will follow at about 8.00 pm and afterwards members will have the opportunity to be shown around the building and hear more about the plans.

Visit to Undercliffe Cemetery, Bradford, Sunday 22 June 2025 10.30 to 12.30

Undercliffe is a superb example of a Victorian cemetery with magnificent and varied monuments to Bradford's great and good but also the graves of thousands of its more humble citizens. It also has some Harrogate connections. In this visit we will have a talk from the Cemetery Charity on their work and a guided walking tour with History Group member and ex-Bradfordian Paul Jennings. The walk will take a little over an hour. It is on level paths except for one small flight of steps or alternatively a slight incline. Please note that the site is on an exposed hill so dress for the weather if necessary. The cost is just £5 (for the Charity), to include refreshments; cash on the day please. Please meet at the car park on Undercliffe Lane where the Lodge is located (with toilets).

Car sharing is encouraged so if you can offer someone a lift, or need a lift, please let us know when booking,  and what area of Harrogate you can meet up in.