Brew York acquired the pub, whose future appeared uncertain after it closed last year.

The Mitre is one of three venues taken over by the independent brewery via an agreement with Market Town Taverns.

Brew York, which was founded in 2016 on Walmgate in York by Wayne Smith and Lee Grabham, has also acquired the Horse & Farrier in Otley and Coopers Bar and Brasserie in Guiseley.

Founders of Brew York Lee Grabham (left) and Wayne Smith

The Mitre, which opened in 1923, is next to Knaresborough’s grade two listed train station. The venue has a large central bar, function room, outdoor seating area and rooms to let.

Brew York beers are on offer from traditional hand-pull cask and keg. The pub has best sellers such as Juice Forsyth, a fruited Indian Pale Ale, Tonkoko, a milk stout and Golden Eagle, a Czech style pilsner on tap.

All Brew York beers are brewed in York either at the original brewery on Walmgate or at the main production facility in Osbaldwick.

Over the bank holiday weekend Frango Eduardo will be serving Portuguese chicken while details of permanent food offerings are finalised.

Brew York beers on tap in The Mitre, Knaresborough

Wayne Smith said:

“I’m really excited to be reopening the Mitre, it’s a pub I used to visit regularly when it was ran by market town taverns and pleased we have been able to take over and get it back trading again. We will be making some enhancements over the coming months and appointing a permanent street food vendor, but for the first few weeks will be bringing in a new vendor each weekend, starting with Frango Eduardo this bank holiday. We will be bringing a wide range of brew york cask and keg beers with something to suit everyone’s tastes.”

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A repair café is to open in Harrogate.

The initiative, which is part of an international movement, promotes repairing items as an alternative to throwing things away.

People are encouraged to come along with broken items and get them fixed on the spot with the help of volunteer repairers.

There are over 2,500 repair cafés worldwide, with the closest ones currently in Leeds and Thirsk. The initiative was created by Dutch woman Martine Postma and the first repair café event took place in Amsterdam in 2009.

The Harrogate café is looking for residents with different skills to act as repair experts during the monthly meetings.

Organisers are seeking people who can repair clothing, textiles, electrical appliances, electronics, jewellery, and furniture, wooden objects.

Volunteers are also needed to act as hosts at the meetings; to serve as a contact point for visitors and repairers, as well as serving refreshments.

William Sanders, organiser of Harrogate Repair Café, said:

“Following the success of similar projects in Leeds, We’re excited to put Harrogate on the map of a huge and growing network of repair cafés.

“We’d love to stop things going to landfill, by helping the community to get things fixed, as well as giving volunteers the rewarding opportunity to meet like-minded people and share their skills.”

The Harrogate Repair Café group on Facebook was created last week and already has already amassed over 200 members. Mr Sanders said he was “very pleased” by the response.

Mr Sanders is an events organiser from Harrogate who began volunteering at the Leeds Repair Café.

He specialises in fixing electrical items and said the café often se people bring items such as clothes, coffee machines, hair straighteners and air fryers.

He added:

“I thought it would be something good for Harrogate. The town needs some more community based things and Harrogate has the right demographic. At the Leeds Repair Café we see a lot of older people or people with mobility issues with lots of things that need repairing.”

“At the moment my main focus is on looking for handy people to become volunteers. It is a great opportunity and gives people a chance to use their skills in a positive way. It is really fun and is such as rewarding process.”

An open meeting is being held for anyone interested in getting involved at the Friends Meeting House on Queen Parade in Harrogate at 3pm on Saturday, May 18, Mr Sanders said he hoped 20 to 30 people would attend.

The Harrogate Repair Café is also seeking sponsors to help donate towards expenses such as PAT tests and insurance.

Anyone interested in getting involved can contact the repair café at harrogaterepaircafe@gmail.com.

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A double-sided sketch by the Belgian surrealist artist René Magritte will be auctioned in Ripon next week.

The sketch will be displayed at Elstob Auctioneers’ fine art sale on Wednesday, May 8.

The two pencil drawings of nude figures in a double-sided gilt decorative frame carries a price estimate of £10,000 to £15,000.

Magritte, who lived from 1898 to 1967, was known for images of clouds, bowler hats, pipes and green apples.

His work influenced pop art, minimalist art and conceptual art. In the 1999 film The Thomas Crown Affair starring Pierce Brosnan, the Magritte painting The Son of Man featured prominently as part of the plot line.

The logo of Apple Corps, The Beatles’ company, is inspired by Magritte’s Le Jeu de Mourre; Paul Simon composed a song Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog after the War and Tom Stoppard wrote a 1970 surrealist play called After Magritte.

The nude pencil studies that feature in Elstob’s sale came from the remaining contents of the studio of Magritte, sold at Sothebys on 2 July 1987. On this occasion, it is being offered for sale by a private collector.

Nude studies sketches by René Magritte

Rohan McCulloch, paintings and sculpture specialist at Elstob Auctioneers, said:

“Even if at first people think they don’t know the name of Magritte, they will most probably be familiar with many of his pictures that have frequently been featured in advertisements, posters, book covers and film.

“Without doubt, he has left a huge cultural legacy and we are very excited to be able to offer this captivating work for sale. Its established provenance will hopefully ensure a considerable interest from collectors around the globe.”

The sale also includes a striking portrait of Miss Hilda Wilkinson by Leeds artist Jacob Kramer (1892-1962), which is anticipated to fetch £6,000 to 8,000 and an oil on canvas by Philip Naviasky (1894-1983) that carries a price estimate of £1,000 – £1,500.

Miss Hilda Wilkinson by Jacob Kramer (left) and Miss May by Philip Naviasky

All lots can be viewed online and bidding on the day of the sale can be made in person, over the telephone or online.

Items can be viewed at the Ripon saleroom on Sunday May 5 and Monday May 6 and the day before the sale on Tuesday May 7.

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A primary school at West Tanfield, near Ripon, has received a ‘good’ Ofsted rating.

St Nicholas Church of England Primary School on Mowbray Terrace is a mixed primary school with 49 students currently enrolled.

The school has maintained its status as good since 2010.

The report said “pupils thrive at this small and inclusive school” and praised St Nicholas for its “ambitious curriculum”, “exemplary” behaviour from pupils, and “wide range of opportunities”.

The report added:

“The school has a strong spirit of community. It shows genuine care for pupils and works in effective partnership with parents and carers to meet pupils’ individual needs. Pupils enjoy school. They work and play happily with each other and build trusting relationships with staff.”

Headteacher Sarah Taylor said:

‘We are incredibly proud of the excellent feedback in our report and delighted that the report recognised the exemplary behaviour of our pupils and that our school is an inclusive school where children thrive.

“None of this would have been possible without the professionalism and dedication of our school staff who Ofsted recognised as providing all children with a high-quality education.”

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Large floral displays will once again be installed around Harrogate this summer.

Harrogate Business Improvement District announced today it is bringing back its floral summer of celebration.

A trail of displays will be placed in locations around the town, allowing visitors to celebrate the town’s floral heritage.

This year’s theme is friendship, which has also been adopted by the Royal Horticultural Society for its 60th anniversary celebrations in 2024.

Last year’s BID displays told the story of Harrogate’s twinned towns and multi-national co-operation.

Last year’s floral celebration focused on Harrogate’s twinned towns.

Harrogate BID’s floral celebration won gold in the BIDs, town centres and city centres category at the Britain in Bloom awards.

Harrogate BID manager Matthew Chapman said:

 “We are incredibly passionate about promoting Harrogate as a floral destination in our own unique way – and we were thrilled to be crowned with the gold award at Britain in Bloom last year.

“We cannot thank the partners we work with, including Harrogate in Bloom, enough and look forward to welcoming hundreds of people and the In Bloom judges to our trail later this year.”

The floral event is part of the BID’s work  to maintain Harrogate’s floral offering including planters and barrier baskets.

Further details of the event are yet to be announced.

Here are some of last year’s displays.

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Knaresborough Heritage Centre officially opened over the weekend.

The centre, which celebrates and showcases Knaresborough’s rich history, is located in the former Printzone premises at 12 High Street.

Knaresborough Museum Association, which runs the centre, marked the occasion by holding an opening event attended by Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative MP Andrew Jones, Knaresborough mayor Cllr Hannah Gostlow, and Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate Tom Gordon, along with almost 100 visitors.

The heritage centre consists of a small heritage shop, a visitor information desk and a museum gallery with a programme of exhibitions.

The first exhibition is called ‘the archaeology beneath our feet’ and covers geology and social history. There is also a kids zone, audio visual presentations and hundreds of artefacts and models.

Visitors are asked to make a minimum donation of £2. Accompanied under-16s receive free entry.

The centre is open four days a week, on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sundays from 10am to 4pm.

Kathy Allday, chair of Knaresborough Museum Association, said:

“The heritage centre is the first of its kind – by the community for the community. Knaresborough has a wealth of archaeology that even local people aren’t always aware of. We’ll display artefacts which show that people have been living in Knaresborough for an astonishing 4,000 years.

“We want the heritage centre to be a hub where schools, groups and individuals can all get involved with lifelong learning opportunities, helping to make Knaresborough an even more wonderful town.”

Knaresborough Heritage Centre display. Image: KMA Facebook

The opening marked the culmination of a long-running campaign to find larger and more suitable premises to the small gallery and office space that previously operated from a converted house at 8 York Place.

The association has spent almost £30,000 on refurbishing the premises.

Knaresborough Town Museum Group was set up in 2019 to campaign for a new museum and plans were first put to Harrogate Borough Council in 2020 to create the space. The museum group was renamed Knaresborough Museum Association and registered as a charity in 2021.

You can see images of the opening event below:

The town crier and trustees were in attendance

A window poster at the new centre. Image: KMA Facebook

MP Andrew Jones with vice-chair Malcolm Hay at the VIP preview.

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Forestry England has announced it is to create a 35-hectare woodland near Harrogate.

The woodland will be located at Haverah Park between Beckwithshaw and Killinghall. It will be planted as Coronation Woods to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III.

The site will become the second Forestry England site in the district, alongside Stainburn Forest.

Forestry England, which is an agency of the Forestry Commission, is England’s largest land manager.

The organisation said in a press release today the woodland will contribute to its ambition to create 2,000 hectares of new woodland by 2026 provide public access for recreation, habitats for wildlife, and sustainably-grown timber.

It added the woodland designs will be informed by site surveys, and the public will be invited to comment on the proposals later in the year.

It did not reveal how much it had paid for the site.

Haverah Park, Google Street View

Gareth Parry, Forestry England’s forest management director in Yorkshire, said:

“The nation’s forests are absolutely critical to the fight against climate change, and expanding England’s tree cover is an essential part of this work.

“Research has shown that being amongst nature improves our health and wellbeing, so public access will be established for local communities to enjoy and share this green space.”

Haverah Park entrance, Google Street View

The government plans to increase tree planting rates across the UK to 30,000 hectares per year by the end of this parliamentary term.

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A Ripon man with more than 290,000 followers on TikTok has won the first ever Modus Super Series influencer darts championship.

Charlie Murphy defeated a fellow influencer known as Pieface in Portsmouth on Sunday (April 28).

Mr Murphy started creating videos on TikTok over a year ago about his weight loss journey and his passion for Manchester United.

He now also makes videos on darts, featuring his catchphrase ‘easy now’, which led to him being invited to the tournament. He also plays darts in the local pub league in Ripon.

In total, his videos have received almost 10 million likes on TikTok.

In a TikTok video posted before Sunday’s event, he said:

“I’m really looking forward to it, really nervous but I am just going to enjoy it and give it my all.

“I don’t know how I’ve gone from throwing darts in my bedroom shouting ‘easy now’ to being invited to play here in a tournament with other influencers and professional darts players. What a fantastic place.”

The event was Mr Murphy’s first tournament in front of a crowd and the most viewed Modus Super Series livestream ever.

@charliemurphy50

Modus Super Series is a weekly darts competition streamed on YouTube involving non-Professional Darts Corporation card holders which includes an influencer/creator charity event.

The event raised more than £1,400 for the charity of Mr Murphy’s choice, which was Cancer Research UK.

See below to watch Charlie Murphy win the championship

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Charities and community groups in the Harrogate district have the opportunity to bid for thousands of pounds in funding.

A benefactor left over £100,000 in his will to Harrogate Brigantes Rotary, which raises money to help local and international communities.

The donation was given by a resident and member who wanted to see the funds being put to good use within the district.

Harrogate Brigantes is now preparing to give away £50,000 in the first wave of donations.

Groups are asked to outline why they should benefit. A second phase of funding, again offering £50,000, will be made available at a future date.

Brigantes president Bill O’Rourke said:

“Although we were very saddened to hear the news of our friend’s passing, we were honoured and delighted that they chose to bequeath such an incredible amount of money to us, which will in turn be used to help and support worthy causes across the Harrogate district. They understood our policy of ‘making a difference’ and wanted to ensure that we continued to have the ability to support local organisations which have a significant impact on the wellbeing of our community.

“In accordance with his wishes we are therefore making a first tranche of £50,000 available to local good causes, with another to follow at a future date. We are now seeking applications from organisations located within the former Harrogate Borough Council district and we are particularly keen to support those which have a strong connection to their local community and for whom a donation would make a significant difference.”

Matthew Stamford, director of estate agent Verity Frearson, Sharon Canavar, chief executive of Harrogate International Festivals and Frances Elliot, chief executive of Harrogate and District Community Action, will draw up a shortlist of applicants.

Mr Stamford said:

“This is such a fantastic amount of money that can do so much good for many groups across the town and the district.”

Ms Canavar added:

“We know that Harrogate is home to a great number of wonderful charities and community groups, all of whom need financial support in these difficult times.”

Mr Elliot said:

“This money can really make a difference to people and groups within our community, and I would urge anyone who thinks they can make good use of it, to apply.”

Harrogate Brigantes is part of one of the largest humanitarian organisations in the world, with around 1.4 million members across 200 countries and geographical regions.

To find out more click here and to apply for the funding click here.

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