The historic Harrogate Arms is set to reopen as a café tomorrow.

The grade two-listed building, which closed a decade ago, will finally be brought back to working order.

Originally built in 1844 by Henry Wright, the then-owner of the estate, the Harrogate Arms and Bath House were set in pleasure gardens, which are now part of The Royal Horticultural Society’s Garden Harlow Carr.

The Harrogate Arms had several faces during its time, including a hotel, inn, nightclub, restaurant and pub, before closing to the public in 2014.

But the RHS was granted listed building consent in 2019 to convert the site into a café.

The horticultural charity today said it has been “working hard to restore the premises”, which will offer indoor and outdoor seating, as well as a menu focused on “seasonal ingredients”.

It added the café will offer a breakfast, lunch and an all-day menu, along with artisan coffee.

The new landscape of RHS Garden Harlow Carr by planners Gillespies.

In a press release, the RHS said:

“Each day will feature a special menu utilising produce directly from our Kitchen Garden to champion the use of fresh ingredients.

“It will also showcase some fantastic ways for preserving foods from the garden from the summer so they can be used in the colder and less productive months. Think anything from pickled cucumber to chilli oils and kimchi!”

New jobs will be created as part of the café opening, the charity said, adding it hopes to use as much locally sourced produce as possible.

Liz Thwaite, head of RHS Garden Harlow Carr, also said:

“We can’t wait to re-open this building which holds so many memories for members of the local community and really look forward to welcoming them back to the brand new Harrogate Arms Café.

“This project has been a long time in the making, as we wanted to create something fresh and exciting for our visitors that celebrates our rich heritage.”

The Harrogate Arms Café will open to the public from around 11am tomorrow (April 25), an RHS spokesperson said.

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Former Smiths frontman turned solo artist Morrissey was spotted out in Harrogate last night.

The singer-songwriter enjoyed a couple of pints in the Harrogate Arms pub and was happy to pose for photos with a handful of fellow drinkers who recognised him.

Chris Russell, who runs Zombie Clothing in Knaresborough, happened to be in the pub at the time and was surprised to see someone so famous.

He said:

“I was just having a beer and he was gracious enough to pose for a pic.”

The visit was also a surprise to staff at the pub. Manager Pete Murphy said:

“We only had four or five tables in, so it wasn’t busy, but a few people recognised him and had photos with him.

“We get the odd Leeds player in, but that’s the first singer I’ve seen. I’ve been running the pub just over a year now.”

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Thirty-three trees could be felled as part of the Royal Horticultural Society‘s plans to convert the former Harrogate Arms into a café.

The horticultural charity was granted planning and listed building consent in 2019 to convert the pub, which closed a decade ago, into a café.

But a new planning application was submitted this month to landscape the surrounding area to improve the view between RHS Garden Harlow Carr and the Harrogate Arms

The plans include diverting a public right of way and felling trees such as ash, sycamore and beech.

According to  an aboricultural impact statement submitted to Harrogate Borough Council to support the planning application, nine of the trees are classed as category B, 18 as category C and six as category U.

Category B trees are deemed to be of moderate quality with an estimated remaining life expectancy of at least 20 years; category C are said to be of low quality with an estimated remaining life expectancy of at least 10 years and category U trees are regarded as being in such poor condition that they cannot realistically be retained as living trees for longer than 10 years.

A spokeswoman for the RHS said:

“As part of our plans to re-establish the historic connection between the Harrogate Arms, Bath House and the garden it is necessary to remove 33 trees, primarily those that are of low quality, for example, young self-seeded trees, are in declining health or are suppressing other significant trees that we want to retain.

“Within the new landscape we will be replacing these with 37 new trees of equivalent amenity value as required by local planning policy plus an additional 45 trees, including beech, birch, hornbeam, oak and maple, providing a new generation of trees to enhance the landscape for years to come and making a long-term contribution to the habitat and natural character of the site.”

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Pleasure gardens

Originally built in 1844 by then-owner of the estate Henry Wright, the Harrogate Arms and the nearby Bath House were set in pleasure gardens which are now part of RHS Harlow Carr.

The RHS said in a statement “reconnecting the landscape to the buildings” represents an important link with the garden’s past and the local heritage of Harrogate as a spa town.

The Bath House now serves as an exhibition and event space within the garden, while the former hotel will be converted for use as an RHS-run café.  The statement added:

“A number of local stakeholders have been kept informed of the process, including the Harrogate Group of Ramblers, which has indicated no objection to the proposals to move the public right of way.

“The RHS has also collaborated with a local college to look at menu ideas for the new café, which will make use of fresh, seasonal produce from RHS Harlow Carr’s kitchen garden.”

Head of RHS Harlow Carr Liz Thwaite said:

“We are delighted to be at the final stage of seeking approval of our plans for the Harrogate Arms.

“This project has been a long time in the making, as we wanted to create something fresh and exciting for our visitors that celebrates our rich heritage.

“We hope that our members and visitors will lend their support to our application.”

RHS Harlow Carr is to covert a bungalow on its site into staff offices and welfare accommodation.

Harrogate Borough Council has approved the conversion of the bungalow on Crag Lane, which falls within the Harlow Carr estate.

The building had previously been used for residential purposes. It will now be converted for commercial use.

Last month the RHS submitted details about how it plans to convert the former Harrogate Arms pub, also on Crag Lane, into a cafe.

The horticultural charity bought the building in 2014 and received planning permission in 2019 to create a ground floor cafe and kitchen facilities.

Last month the horticultural charity had plans for a new footbridge at the gardens approved.

The Thaliana Bridge crosses the Queen Mother’s Lake at the south end of the gardens to improve access and provide new routes for visitors.

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Building work to convert the former Harrogate Arms pub on Crag Lane into a cafe has moved a step closer.

The horticultural charity RHS bought the building in 2014 and received planning permission in 2019 to create a ground floor cafe and kitchen facilities to serve visitors of neighbouring RHS Harlow Carr.

It has now submitted a construction management plan to Harrogate Borough Council that gives details about how contractors will go about the conversion.

It says work will include the demolition of extensions, partitions, a boundary wall and low wall.

It will also involve the erection of three single-storey extensions and a boundary wall; reduction of floor levels; widening of entrance; removal of fire escape; installation of replacement doors, windows and fanlights; alterations to fenestration; formation and restoration of hard and soft landscaping.

Work on site will take place from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday and from 8am to 1pm on Saturday. There will be no work on Sundays or Bank Holidays.

The council will now consider the plan.

Hotel, nightclub, restaurant and pub

The Harlow Car Hotel and Bath House was built in 1844 by two businessmen following the discovery of an ‘especially efficacious’ sulphur spring in the area.

The hotel was sold to Harrogate Corporation in 1915 and has gone through a number of incarnations since then, as a nightclub, restaurant and latterly a pub.

The building in 1930. Credit – Archant

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Sustainable menu

When the cafe opens in 2023, hospitality students from Harrogate College will devise the menu.

The students have been asked to use their culinary and creative skills to come up with a concept for a sustainable menu.

Fresh produce grown at the RHS gardens will feature prominently in the dishes.

Hospitality students from Harrogate College are helping to devise a menu for the the cafe due to open at the former Harrogate Arms pub.

The horticultural charity RHS Harlow Carr, which owns the former inn, plans to open the cafe in summer 2023.

The students have been asked to use their culinary and creative skills to come up with a concept for the long-closed venue and a sustainable menu.

Fresh produce grown at the RHS gardens will feature prominently in the dishes.

The students, who are being led by seven Level 2 professional cookery students, recently visited the site to be briefed on their task.

Harrogate College students being briefed on their ‘design a menu’ challenge at RHS Garden Harlow Carr.

The initiative represents the start of a closer partnership between the college and Harlow Carr.

Jason Parry, the college’s cultural, contemporary and heritage studies programme manager, said:

“It ticks so many boxes for us in terms of the college’s values and aspirations — sustainability, ‘food to fork’, carbon reduction and seasonality — along with menu and service design, work experience and responding to a client brief.

“The project will be followed up throughout the year with Harlow Carr, who will do a progress check with the students in January.

“Ultimately it will end up with the students giving a Dragon’s Den style pitch to Harlow Carr staff, with small groups presenting their ideas around the menu, and the service, and showing how they have worked to meet the client’s brief.”

The college recently launched a sustainability pledge which sets out its commitment to becoming net zero carbon by 2030.

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