The Stray Ferret

This history column is written for the Stray Ferret by celebrated Harrogate historian, Malcolm Neesam. 

Park Drags came into regular use during the 1860s, and were large coaches drawn by a team of horses, which had provision on the roof for additional seating. Popular at sporting events, as passengers were guaranteed a good view, Park Drags were once a common site on Britain’s highways. Privately owned ones were usually held by the wealthiest class of society, as with the example pictured above, owned in the mid-nineteenth century by His Grace, the Duke of Beaufort.

In 1872, a business partnership between two local men, George Mackay and John Fowler, led to their opening a carriage works on York Place, now occupied by Kwik Fit. The business  manufactured several types of carriage, including Park Drags, although none were thought to have survived. In 1988, the Curator of Harrogate Museum learned that following the recent re-organisation of local government, Kirklees Council wanted to dispose of a Park Drag which had come into the possession of Huddersfield Museum in 1947.

Harrogate’s Curator then asked George Fowler, a Friend of Harrogate Museums, if he would examine the Park Drag. Mr. Fowler’s amazement may be imagined after he discovered evidence that showed the Park Drag had been made in Harrogate in c.1873 by his ancestor, John Fowler, and George Mackay, of the York Place partnership. It was then that Harrogate’s Museum decided the Park Drag should be acquired for the town where it originated.

By September 1988, the Park Drag was in temporary store in a Ripon warehouse off Low Mill Road, but thanks to the generous offer of Kwik Fit, it was taken to their York Place premises for more local storage, pending restoration. An appeal organised with the help of the Friends of Harrogate District Museum, raised some money, but not enough to cover the £6,000 cost of full restoration, so the vehicle had to remain in the York Place premises of Kwik Fit.

The unrestored Park Drag was exhibited at the 1991 Great Yorkshire Show, with the Friends of Harrogate District Museums in attendance, when the public donated towards the restoration fund, and the following year, George Fowler received a quotation of £6,000 to have the Drag restored professionally. It was always the intention of the Friends to finish the restoration to road worthy status, so that the Drag could be used on official occasions by the Mayor or other VIP guests, some possibly in connection with the District’s conference and exhibition trade.

In October 1991, Harrogate Council’s Department of Technical Services drew up plans for the Park Drag to be exhibited in the glazed shelter in Crescent Gardens, at which time the Drag’s post-restoration value was estimated to be £30,000. The shelter required the fitting of new glass doors , with an internal plinth and screen to display and protect the Drag, but the scheme was never really promoted, and fell through.

After having generously accommodated the Park Drag for ten years, Kwik Fit found that they needed to have it stored elsewhere, so the Museum’s Department had it removed. This was ten years after Harrogate had acquired the Drag from Huddersfield.

Then, in 2000, Harrogate Museum secured further funding from the Science Museum’s Prism Fund, and the Yorkshire Museums Council. This enabled the Park Drag to be taken to expert vehicle restorers David A.C. *Royce and Co. of Staindrop, near Darlington, who began the exacting task of restoration to road worthy status. Even before this restoration was completed, the Friends of the Museum were told by the Curator that on completion of the work of restoration, the Park Drag would be given a permanent home in Harrogate.

Work of restoration was completed in 2002, but as no home had yet been found in Harrogate, the Park Drag had to be stored at displayed at the Skopos Motor Museum at Batley.  After some time,  the Batley Museum asked Harrogate to remove their Park Drag, as the space was needed for other displays. Consequently, the Drag was moved to a secure depot in the south of England, where – subject to annual insurance and storage fees – it has since remained, despite the energetic attempts of one Mayor to have it returned in 2012, and this writer’s failed attempt to have it displayed at Harrogate Railway Station.

The restored Harrogate Park Drag

The problem with the Park Drag is that its size and weight present difficulties when attempts are made to provide it with a local home. Personally, I think that in view of the proposed developments at the Harrogate Convention Centre, Crescent Gardens, or the Gateway Project in Station Square, one of these sites could be ideal. Bearing in mind that it was restored to road-worthy condition, it could be used by the Mayor or in special parades through the District, when it would feature as a unique local artefact. Imagine what an impact it would make if one of the writers at the Crime Writers Festival were to roll up at the Swan in the horse drawn Park Drag! The publicity possibilities are endless.

It is now thirty-three years since Harrogate acquired the Park Drag, and in view of all the public donations and grant aid collected for its restoration, to say nothing of the insurance and storage costs, it is about time that it was put on public display. I am therefore delighted to report that steps are underway to do exactly this, although the final resting place of this rare and fascinating object have yet to be decided.

Where do Stray Ferret readers think would be the best place to display it securely?

Read More:

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