It seems we are a pretty unobservant bunch in Harrogate – except for resident Alex Pemberton.
A brown plaque installed on Regent Parade two years ago has a glaring error on it yet until this week no one had spotted it.
The plaque on Library House was placed on the property by Harrogate Civic Society due to its historically important connection to author Ely Hargrove.
Hargrove was an 18th century author and publisher who wrote Harrogate’s first guide book. He moved his shop to Library House before turning it into the town’s first subscription library.
Unveiled in December 2018, the inscription on the plaque reads that Hargrove “moved his shop from Church Square to this newly built Regent Regent Parade location“.
A Stray Ferret reader, Alex Pemberton, got in touch after spotting the error yesterday. He said:
“I was walking past and saw the plaque and just thought I’d give it a read. I had to read it a few times to check I wasn’t mis-reading it and even got my wife to check it too. I think it should be left as is and the Society should save the money. It adds to the interest of it.”
Plaques are expensive, each normally costs between £500 and £800 to manufacture and install.
At its unveiling, the current owner of the house and founder of Springfield Healthcare stood alongside the Mayor of the time, cllr Bernard Bateman, as he cut the red ribbon.
Harrogate Civic Society’s co-chair Stuart Holland said:
“We hadn’t realised there was a mistake. We’re very grateful for Alex for getting in touch and making us aware. We appreciate him being so observant. The Civic Society will speak to the manufacturer and see if there is a way of correcting the mistake.”
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The Library House is said to have been very popular with tourists in the 19th century and managed to find its way into Sir Walter Scott’s 1823 novel St Ronan’s Wall.
In 1819 the building was bought by William Langdale who continued the subscription business, issuing from September 1820 a ‘Weekly List’ of visitors’ names and their hotels.
This inspired a rival Pickersgill Palliser in 1834 who added a Stage Coach timetable, later expanding in 1836 to the ‘Harrogate Advertiser’.
The library closed in 1857 and was then converted into residential use.
