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.
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: Harrogate’s Victorian Christmas
Victorian Harrogate may not have had bright Christmas lights but the shops and market were brimming with food and the town was filled with festive music..
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.
History: Where’s the vision, where’s the hope?
As we ease out of the global pandemic and debate rages about the best way to boost Harrogate town centre, historian Malcolm Neesam looks back at previous attempts to reshape the town after catastrophic world events…
History: Remembering Debenham’s, Busby’s and Buckley’s
As Debenhams announces it will not reopen its Parliament Street shop, Historian Malcolm Neesam looks back on the history of the building.