Recent stormy weather has prompted Harrogate Historian, Malcolm Neesam, to recall past howlers, some lucky escapes and a gruesome story dating back to the winter of 1799.
Opinion: The big lie
In a strongly-worded opinion piece, Harrogate historian Malcolm Neesam argues that people have been hoodwinked by the idea that bigger is better and gives local government, gas, electricity and water as examples of how Harrogate achieved more when it was governed locally.
How I’d develop the Royal Baths and Prospect Square
In the final part of a series of three articles by celebrated local historian Malcolm Neesam on how he would improve Harrogate, he considers the future of the Royal Baths and Prospect Square.
My radical blueprint for Station Parade and Cambridge Street
In the second of a series of three articles by celebrated local historian Malcolm Neesam on how he would improve Harrogate, he suggests radical changes for Station Parade, smartening up Cambridge Street and improvements to Library Gardens and Princes Square.
How I’d unlock the potential of Crescent Gardens
In the first of a series of three articles by celebrated local historian Malcolm Neesam on how he would improve Harrogate, he looks at improving Crescent Gardens, replacing the ‘piecemeal bungling’ of the Island site and creating stunning fountains on Prospect Place.
Malcolm Neesam History: Bring the Harrogate Park Drag back home
It is now thirty-three years since Harrogate acquired the Park Drag — a large coach made in the town in the 1870s. Yet after all the public donations and grant aid collected for its restoration, it’s still hidden in a storage facility down south. Harrogate historian Malcolm Neesam feels it is about time it was put on public display back home.
Malcolm Neesam History: The birth of the Great Yorkshire Show Ground
Did you know that a track was once built across the Stray for the Great Yorkshire Show when it was held in the centre of Harrogate? Read Harrogate Malcolm Neesam’s history about how, as the event grew, organisers began to look for a more permanent home.
Malcolm Neesam History: Harrogate’s gas-powered buses
As we witness a fundamental change in how cars and buses are powered, Harrogate historian Malcolm Neesam looks back to the turn of the last century when electric and somewhat unstable gas-powered buses came into operation.
Malcolm Neesam History: the heyday of Harrogate’s cinemas
Harrogate Historian Malcolm Neesam takes us back to a time when Harrogate boasted seven cinemas. Pictures were big business and with the advent of “talkies” the number of cinemas grew.
Malcolm Neesam History: Harrogate’s once lively street theatre scene
As Harrogate town centre opens up again, Harrogate Historian Malcolm Neesam looks back at a very lively street theatre and entertainment scene in the 19th century and before the Great War.
History: Harrogate’s Battle of the Flowerbeds
From cycle lanes to more outdoor space for bars, passionate debates over the use of the Stray are nothing new. In the 1930s the townspeople mutinied when the council planted flowers beds on the Stray… it signalled the birth of The Stray Defence Association and the protesters won.