You might not heard of him before, but today is Sir Robert Barrie Day. Sir Robert was a Royal Navy officer who fought against the USA in the 19th century and is buried in the Harrogate district.
The day marks the 180th anniversary of his death as well as the eight year anniversary of Harrogate and Barrie in Canada becoming twin towns.
Sir Robert saw service in the War of 1812 which was a conflict fought between the United States and Great Britain over British violations of U.S. maritime rights.
He then took up a post in Ontario, Canada to inspect a key trading route called the Nine Mile Portage. He settled there, calling it “one of the most beautiful places on earth”. In 1833 the area was renamed in his honour.
As of the 2016 census, Barrie’s population was 141,434.
Twinned
Barrie was twinned with Harrogate in 2013 at the suggestion of local aristocrat Sir Thomas Ingilby.
Sir Robert married Sir Thomas’s ancestor, Julia Wharton Ingilby, in1816.
In mid-1834, Barrie returned to England and King William IV made him a knight commander of the Royal Guelphic Order. He was promoted to rear-admiral in 1837 and knight commander of the Order of the Bath in 1840.
Barrie retired in Swarthdale, Lancashire and was buried at All Saints Church in Ripley in 1841.
Read More:
- Malcolm Neesam History: the heyday of Harrogate’s cinemas
- Authors celebrate Valley Gardens’ journey from springs to scenic spot
Barrie deputy mayor, Barry Ward, who was a guest for Harrogate’s UCI cycling event in 2019 said:
“Sir Robert Barrie had quite an interesting life, both as a military commander and administrator in what later became Canada.”
Harrogate is also twinned with two with Bagnères de Luchon in France and Montecatini Terme in Italy. Read more about Harrogate’s twin towns here.
Interested in history? Did you know that the Stray Ferret has teamed up with Malcolm to produce audio walking tours of Harrogate? The walks are sponsored by the Harrogate Business Improvement District (BID) and take you back to the Golden Age of the Harrogate Spa and a walk through the Commercial Heart of Harrogate.
Why not take a walk back in time and learn about Harrogate’s glorious past.. They’re easy to do and a great day out. For more information click here.
