Subscribe to trusted local news
In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
- Subscription costs less than £1 a week with an annual plan.
Already a subscriber? Log in here.
11
Oct
Harrogate to mark 200th anniversary of its first hospital
A number of events will be held across Harrogate next year to mark the 200th anniversary of the town’s first public hospital.
A six-week exhibition on the past, present and future of Harrogate's healthcare will open at West Park United Reformed Church on April 6 – the official date of the anniversary.
David Leindhart who has been a surgeon in Harrogate for other 30 years, said:
It's a milestone for provisional healthcare in Harrogate and future hospital development.
The exhibition will explore the story of Harrogate's medical and spa heritage, and how the town became world famous for its healing waters.
Visitors can expect weekly events, talks and activities in the programme.
The exhibition has been organised in partnership with the Harrogate Medical Society and Harrogate Civic Society.
Harrogate Civic Society will be unveiling a memorial plaque commemorating Wilfrid Edgecombe, a major figure in Harrogate health who was described as "perhaps the last remaining spa physician".
The plaque will be across the road from Craven Lodge in Harrogate.
As well as the main display at West Park, there will be exhibitions at the Royal Pump Room Museum and Harrogate Library, with guided tours.
Harrogate District Hospital will also hold a number of open days, but the dates are yet to be revealed.
A school project will invite primary pupils to design posters advertising Harrogate's spa waters in the Victorian era, and secondary pupils to create a piece of creative writing titled "A Day at the Harrogate Spa".
The hospital told the members' meeting it also hopes talks about healthcare will take place at the Harrogate Club, as well as walking tours focused on the town's medical past.
The details have not yet been revealed.
Dr Leindhart said:
We are trying to include lots of people, schools and communities.
We all have a story to tell regarding healthcare in Harrogate, and we are trying to make it as diverse a celebration as possible. There is going to be quite a lot going on.
Harrogate Bath Hospital was originally founded in 1826 next to the Valley Gardens, but it was rebuilt in 1889 and renamed the Royal Bath Hospital.
Harrogate Bath Hospital, from Harrogate Medical Society. The Magnesia Well is visible in the foreground.
Patients at the hospital – before and after it was rebuilt – were offered hydrotherapy and rheumatological care.
During the First and Second World Wars, the hospital became a convalescent home for injured servicemen and women.
In 1873, the Cottage Hospital opened in Harrogate on Belford Road, providing medical care to people of Harrogate and Bilton who could not afford treatment in their own homes.
The Cottage Hospital, 1930. From the book 'Old Harrogate', available to view in Harrogate Library.
This hospital moved in 1883 to the building that is now St Peter's School, where it became a much larger infirmary. The old Cottage Hospital building later bcame the Home Guard Club.
The hospital grew into the Harrogate General Hospital, which opened on Knaresborough Road in 1932 and became integrated into the NHS in 1948.
In the 1970s, construction began on the Harrogate District Hospital. By 1998, it was officially complete. This hospital essentially closed all others in the area under a £40 million centralisation plan.
The Royal Bath Hospital closed in 1994, but Harrogate District Hospital revealed plans at a members' meeting on September 22 to celebrate it as the anniversary of the town's first hospital.
0