Harrogate town centre felt less like a ghost town this morning, as people returned for the first day of the shops re-opening after lockdown.

The biggest queues were outside Sports Direct, which is offering NHS workers a huge 50% discount from today.

The line to get into the store ran all the way from Sports Direct in the Victoria Shopping Centre, around the corner and down to WHSmith at the bottom of Cambridge Street.

One shopper told The Stray Ferret:

“We have been waiting for over an hour but we will see how it goes once we are inside… we are here to get some trainers.”

Another said:

“It’s just a case of queueing up and seeing what happens, I am here with my grandson to get him some birthday presents so I’m sure it will be worth the wait… We don’t have anywhere else to be.”

There are signs outside all the shops to remind people of 2m distancing and people are being told to hand sanitise on the way in and out of each shop.”

Both Harrogate Borough Council and the Harrogate BID group have organised town centre “ambassadors” as they work to allay shoppers’ fears and welcome them back to the district’s town centres.

The council says its ambassadors will be on hand to help welcome people and offer information and advice to shoppers where they can.

The council has organised a toolkit with advice and materials to help businesses across the district open, including a checklist of the measurements required both in and outside shops. It’s also distributed printable posters and directional signs to help shops manage the flow of customers.

Harrogate BID has also organised town centre “hosts”  and distributed leaflets and posters. The hosts will be tasked with giving shoppers peace of mind as lockdown is eased by welcoming them, giving out information and noting hotspots that need to be cleaned.

It’s not clear if both sets of ambassadors will be working in the town centre at the same time.

One of Harrogate BID’s posters for the town centre

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The council says public toilets in the busiest areas will be opened and parking charges have been re-introduced.

Councillor Graham Swift, deputy council leader and cabinet member for economic development, said:

“Monday will be an exciting and anxious day for everyone as we all learn to adapt to a new normal.

“Many of our retail businesses are pulling out all the stops to be ready to open safely and we are doing everything we can to support their efforts.

“Our package of measures are designed to support retailers and their customers to get back to trading and shopping as soon as possible and operate in a safe way to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

“We know we are at the start of a long road, but we are committed to working with businesses to progress the district’s economic recovery in the months ahead.”

Charity shops across the Harrogate district will not be reopening today. This comes as non-essential retail shops prepare to reopen on Monday.

National charities such as Age UK, Barnardos and Oxfam as well as local charities including Martin House and St Michaels, are amongst many who are taking a staggered approach to re-opening.

Yorkshire charity Martin House, who provide care for children and young people with life limiting conditions, is not planning on reopening their Knaresborough and Harrogate shops until July and has suspended all volunteering activities since the beginning of lockdown.

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Stephanie Rimmington, head of retail at Martin House said:

“We are currently working on plans to reopen our shops at the start of July. We are carrying out deep cleaning and installing safety screens and signing to help keep staff and customers safe, and will be limiting the number of people allowed into the shop at a time. Our top priority is the safety of staff, volunteers and customers at all times.”

Many charity shops are unable to open because they’re small which makes social distancing difficult. In addition, all donations made to charity shops have to be quarantined for 72 hours before being put on the shop floor.

Saint Michaels Hospice – Crimple House

Similarly, St Michaels Hospice has confirmed  it plans to reopen its shops from July and is taking precautionary measures around hygiene and social distancing. The charity has encouraged the public to keep clothing donations at home for the time being.

Two further patients, who tested positive for coronavirus, have died bringing the total number of deaths at the hospital to 75.

A 125 patients have been discharged by the hospital.

A further 27 people, who tested positive for the coronavirus have died, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 27,954.

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Patients were aged between 50 and 101 years old. Two patients had no known underlying health conditions.

Approximately 60 cyclists joined a rally organised by the climate change activist group, Extinction Rebellion, in Harrogate this morning calling for safer streets for walkers and cyclists.

Two community police officers looked on as the group set off from Library Gardens and circled around the centre of Harrogate.  The rally spread out and kept in groups of 6 from a household- the mood was friendly and upbeat.

Organiser Vicky Wild said lockdown had seen a big increase in people using and buying bicycles but the worry was as life returns to normal, it won’t be safe to use them:

“Now is the time to hold this rally and call for safer streets for cyclists and walkers. Let’s not go back to to normal in every way. Today we’ve been joined by ordinary people – in this group there’s a doctor, a teacher, a shopkeeper- families and people of all ages. Everyone feels strongly about it.”

The start of the rally on Victoria Park Avenue

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Carl and Jo Summerscales and their 3 children, Eva, Will and Teddy joined the rally. Dad Carl said the roads, and in particular, the school run roads, need to be safer.:

“I think the people in charge are putting their heads in the sand — they seem to want to stop cycling rather than put cycle paths in, especially as there is now extra money for this.  I think for children cycling to school it’s just so dangerous.”

Mum Jo added:

“Will in particular cycles two miles to school and we’ve worked really hard to find a safe route at peak time- it’s worrying there’s so much traffic”

Above: The Summerscales family, Carl, Jo, Eva, Will and Teddy

Extinction Rebellion flags were set out by organisers

Ripon Cathedral will open its doors to the public tomorrow for the first time since lockdown began.

Having been closed for more than 10 weeks under coronavirus legislation, the cathedral is among just a few places of worship in the Harrogate district which have decided to open for private prayer.

Government guidance has changed to allow places of worship to open for individuals. Nationally, leaders of different denominations have all issued advice, with each individual church to make its own decision over whether it is safe to open.

In the Harrogate district, Ripon Cathedral is one of those set to welcome people for prayer. Dean John Dobson said:

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St Peter’s Church in the centre of Harrogate will be open daily, except Sundays, from Monday, June 22. The church supports homeless and vulnerable individuals and families routinely, and this service has not stopped while the church building was closed to visitors. The vicar, Rev Alan Garrow said:

“We want to be open. We have been in a curious situation because we have been active all the time, with 2,500 takeaway hot meals served since lockdown.

“We will only be open for prayer between 12pm and 2pm because the food service takes a chunk out of our day.”

While many of the district’s church leaders will keep their buildings closed until they feel it is safe to open, they are continuing to make good use of technology to deliver online services. The Nidd Valley Methodist Circuit in Harrogate has also opened a dial-a-thought phone line, which people can ring to hear a message each morning if they are unable to access the churches’ online morning prayer.

Harrogate charity Open Country, which works with people with disabilities, has been innovating to find ways to bring wildlife activities into its members’ homes.

The charity normally runs weekly activities for people with a disability including tandem cycling, walking and nature study. Several of its activities require guidance and close contact, specifically to members with visual impairments. But over lockdown these were suspended to protect members.

Telephone befriending, virtual spinning sessions and blogs about nature are a few of the ways the charity is supporting its members as restrictions remain in place.

The ONS reported that more than a third of disabled adults had spent too much time alone since lockdown began, compared with a fifth of non-disabled adults.

Lizzie Hughes, the countryside activities officer for Open Country, told The Stray Ferret about the impact of lockdown on their members:

“For people with a disability it is an even bigger struggle, it’s not just the initial 12 weeks it will be difficult for them in the coming weeks too. Until we can resume in a safe way we have no confirmed date to return. The severity of the situation means some members may be able to return earlier but we want to be as inclusive as we can.

“We know it won’t return back to normal instantly, it will take time for us to adjust and offer the same service again.”

Open country members have previously enjoyed group activities, but now the charity has to find new ways to offer support to its members.

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Nature has a positive impact on the charity’s members but under lockdown their opportunities to go outside are limited. To combat this Open Country has introduced a new initiative ‘Breakfree’ – a collection of local walks suitable for all abilities round Harrogate, Nidderdale and Wharfedale.

Lizzie added:

“The Breakfree packs were developed with wheelchair users and those with limited mobility in mind. But they’ve been perfect for families and local people who have been limited to an hour’s exercise per day around their local area. The packs are free to download and will help you discover footpaths on your doorstep.”

Todays figures mean 73 patients who tested positive for covid-19 at Harrogate District Hospital have died- with 125 discharged.

A further 67 people in England, who tested positive for the coronavirus have died, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 27,927.

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Patients were aged between 37 and 102 years old. Three patients, aged between 59 and 94, had no known underlying health conditions.

This History is written for The Stray Ferret by Harrogate historian, Malcolm Neesam:

The recent tragic circumstances which have initiated a somewhat frenzied public examination into the background of individuals who past generations with vastly different values to our own times decided to honour, have prompted me to consider how this might apply to Harrogate.

This, initially, may seem of dubious value, given that Harrogate’s great days of urbanisation and statue erection belonged to the west’s post-slavery decades of the mid and later nineteenth century. The great problem is one of degree. If Harrogate has never put up any statues to acknowledged slave owners, this is not to deny that in common with every other UK community, there will inevitably have been those of its citizens who benefited from the slave trade by indirect association. The innkeeper, who invested in a company known to profit from the Virginia tobacco trade; the doctor, who bought shares in a company trading in Jamaican sugar; the gentleman farmer who sat on the board of a cotton importation business without looking too closely into the conditions of those who produced that cotton.  Were we today to closely examine the basis on which some of our family fortunes were established, many would surely be discomforted.

Alexander Wedderburn, 1st Earl of Rosslyn

But perhaps there is one figure with a strong connection with Harrogate who might be scrutinised, and that is the man who gives his name to Wedderburn House, Wedderburn Road, and the Wedderburn estate in general. Alexander Wedderburn, M.P. (1733-1805) was an ambitious politician, who in 1771 became Solicitor General, later advancing to the positions of Attorney General, Chief Justice of Common Pleas, and, in 1793, Lord Chancellor, a post he held until 1801.

Wedderburn earned a place in history when he grilled Benjamin Franklin on his role during the unrest in the American colonies. His meteoric career earned him many enemies, and his friendship with David Garrick and Richard Brindsley Sheridan was evidence for his great interest and support for the theatre. Wedderburn’s titles included those of Baron Loughborough and first Earl of Rosslyn.

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In 1775, Wedderburn acquired lands south of what became the Stray, and after living at Woodlands House, he moved into Wedderburn House, it being widely believed to have been remodelled for him by the great Carr of York. Wedderburn’s decision to acquire a residence in Harrogate was partly because he travelled frequently between London and Edinburgh, and found the town ideally situated more or less half way between the two. It was also known that he was attracted to one of the actresses who appeared with Samuel Butler’s troop at Harrogate’s Church Square Theatre – now Mansfield House. In 1790, the sixteen year old Tryphosa Jane Wallis was described as “exquisitely fair, with expressive blue eyes, well controlled movements, a fine figure, and a voice of more sweetness than strength’ . Her talent was recognised by the Lord Chancellor of England, Alexander Wedderburn, also known as Lord Rosslyn, and his wife, who obtained relief from a medical complaint from the mineral waters of the neighbouring St. John’s Well. Years later, when Miss Wallis was a nationally celebrated actress, she interrupted her work at Covent Garden to visit Harrogate,  staying at Wedderburn House, although it is not known what Lady Loughborough thought about the visit!.

Wedderburn House on The Stray

Wedderburn’s wife, Charlotte, received such benefit from the waters of the St. John’s Well on Wetherby Road, that her husband, who then had the title of Baron Loughborough, paid for the rebuilding of the pump room, which is shown in the engraving of 1796, (main picture)  and which records Charlotte’s visit to the well. This was tenanted by William Westmorland, whose name may be seen above the door. Lady Loughborough’s retinue included a black page boy, who is depicted at far left.

Although this writer knows of no direct involvement by Alexander Wedderburn with the slave trade, it would be unrealistic to think that so powerful a man as the Lord Chancellor with his broad portfolio of business interests, did not occasionally benefit from the proceeds of this vile business.

Further research into this may prove revealing, if anyone has the wish to do it.

Malcolm Neesam:

Malcolm Neesam was born in Harrogate and graduated from the University of Leeds as a professional archivist and librarian. He subsequently worked in Hereford, Leeds, London and York where, for twenty-five years, he was North Yorkshire’s County Music and Audiovisual Librarian.  Malcolm is a much-published author. In 1996 Harrogate Borough Council awarded Malcolm the Freedom of the Borough for his services as the town’s historian.

As of this month, riding centres have been given the green light to resume group lessons of up to five people as long as social distancing is maintained.

This means that despite schools remaining closed for most year groups, keen horseriders are able to get back in the saddle and improve their skills whilst outdoors.

Follifoot Stables in Harrogate re-opened for private lessons at the end of May and for group lessons at the start of June.

Ellie-Jay Pedley who is a manager at the stables said lockdown has been a very difficult time for them:

We still had 20 horses to feed, water and care for, but with little income, so yes its been hard. We managed to find extra grazing so the horses could be turned out in the field and staffing could be reduced… The lockdown fell at one of our busiest times of the year so it’s been pretty bad.

I was so glad when we were given the green light to re-open. We have had to make a lot of changes, and we aren’t able to teach beginners as they require an instructor to help them get on and off and also lead them which we currently can’t do, but for those who can ride alone its working well. Riding really benefits people both mentally and physically so after a prolonged time indoors its great to welcome people back.

Not all riding centres in the district have resumed business though.

The Harrogate Riding Centre, has only opened its gates for arena hire and says it will be September at the earliest before it is viably worth opening the riding school.

Drew Birtwistle is the Director at the centre:

“80-90% of our clientele are beginners, these are the ones that the instructors need to help get on and off, check the girth and alter the stirrups, and for that, you just have to be to close. So we are going to wait until its safe to do this. We have September in mind at the earliest… We are a big centre with a lot of staff and horses so we need to make sure there are enough clients coming through the door for it to be financially viable”.