Harrogate

From Free net encyclopedia

Harrogate is a large town in North Yorkshire, England. It is part of the larger Harrogate local government district. The town, with Knaresborough, had a population of 85,128 according to the 2001 census.

1 History
2 Harrogate today
3 Sport in Harrogate
4 Schools
5 See also
6 External links

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History

Prior to the discovery of its naturally iron and sulphur rich water, Harrogate was two minor villages (High Harrogate and Low Harrogate) close to the historic town of Knaresborough. The first mineral spring in Harrogate was discovered by William Slingsby in 1571, who found that water from the Tewitt Well possessed similar properties to that from the springs of the Belgian town of Spa, which gave its name to spa towns. The medicinal properties of the waters were more widely publicised by one Edmund Deane, whose book, Spadacrene Anglica, or the English Spa Fountain was published in 1626. Following this Harrogate developed considerable fame as a spa town.

Today the site of the Tewitt Well is marked by a dome within the Stray, an area of open parkland some 200 acres (800,000 m²) in size that runs through the centre of the town. The Harrogate Stray was created in 1778 by an act of Parliament. Other wells can be found in Harrogate's Valley Gardens and the Royal Pump Room museum.

Harrogate was granted status as a borough in the 12th century, and was primarily a centre for agriculture and the woollen industry.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Harrogate was extremely popular among the English elite and was frequented by nobility from around Europe. Its popularity declined after World War I. During World War II, however, Harrogate's large hotels accommodated government offices that had been evacuated from London. This paved the way for the town's current function as a commercial, conference, and exhibition centre. The town hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 1982.

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Harrogate today

Harrogate was the winner of the 2003 Britain in Bloom in the category of 'Large Town'. From there it went on to win the European Entente Florale competition in 2004. This reprises its win in the first ever Entente Florale competition in 1977. In 2005 Harrogate was stated as the UK's 3rd best place to live. It is also the most expensive area outside West London within England.

There are many fine examples of building and architecture about the town, including the Royal Hall theatre, a Grade II listed building designed by Frank Matcham. As the only surviving Kursaal in Britain, the Royal Hall is an important national heritage building. Restoration work is due to begin in early 2006.

Harrogate is now one of Europe's largest exhibition and conference centres and has many guest houses, hotels and restaurants catering for the regular influx of visitors. The town also acts, to some extent, as a dormitory town for commuters working in the cities of Leeds and Bradford. Harrogate is strongly connected to Leeds, and is part of the Leeds City Region, the city at the centre of the financial region.

The town is served by three railway stations: Harrogate railway station, Hornbeam Park railway station (towards Leeds) and Starbeck railway station on the Harrogate Line to Knaresborough and York. The local radio stations are Stray FM on 97.2FM and Radio York on 104.3FM. Betty's Tea Rooms are owned by the same company that makes Yorkshire Tea - Taylors of Harrogate. Bettys also has cafes in York, Ilkley, and Northallerton, and has recently (2005) opened a second one in Harrogate at the Harlow Carr Gardens. The Blues Bar music pub, located a few doors from Betty's, has twice been a finalist of the Performing Right Society's "Live Music Pub Of The Year" award, in 2004 and 2005, and has hosted musicians such as Van Morrison, Jools Holland, John Martyn, John Cooper Clark, John Otway and Rolan Bolan.

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Sport in Harrogate

Rugby and Football are both popular sports in Harrogate. Harrogate Town FC situated on Wetherby Road play in the Nationwide North division and finished 6th in the 2004-2005 season. They have a natural, good-natured rivalry with NCEL Premiership team Harrogate Railway FC, located at Station View. Harrogate RUFC is based at Claro Road.

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