A street party in 1945

The borough court continued to function on VE Day, the main business being concerned with granting licences for dancing and extensions for liquor and music, all essential aspects of the coming celebrations on the following Sunday, which at the request of the King, would be a day of national thanksgiving and prayer.

A service was planned at St. Peter’s Church attended by the Mayor and full Corporation, followed by a brief ceremony at the War Memorial in remembrance of the fallen.

In the afternoon, a grand parade was to occur on West Park, when participants would include American military personnel, units of the Home Guard and Civil Defence, representatives from the British Legion, St. John Ambulance Brigade, the Scouts and the Guides. Flag bearing youth groups present included the Sea Cadets, Army Cadet Corps, Air Training Corps, Girls Training Corps, Boys Brigade, and the Civil Defence Messengers.

Neighbours and friends celebrating

After a short open air service, the parade marched via West Park and Parliament Street to the Municipal Officers in Crescent Gardens, where the Mayor took the salute from a specially constructed platform.

The Mayor’s rousing speech reminded the townspeople of the ordeal they had undergone, and that until Japan had been overcome, the resolve of the people must be continued. He ended his speech with the sincere thanks of the entire Corporation for what the townspeople had achieved through their great sacrifice.

Memorable though the Peace Parade had been, for some of Harrogate’s residents, their most exuberant celebrations were reserved for the town’s many street parties, which involved whole communities.

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• Local history spotlight: Blind Jack of Knaresborough
• Local history spotlight: Dr Laura Veale
• Local history spotlight: Naomi Jacob
• Exploring North Yorkshire’s plaques and the history behind them

This article is written for The Stray Ferret by celebrated Harrogate historian, Malcolm Neesam. 

It was in 1997 that the Duchy of Lancaster asked my help in tracing some of their most important missing archives relating to Harrogate and the former Royal Forest of Knaresborough. At one time, all of these records were stored at Knaresborough Castle, but during the Civil War, the records were removed and stored in adjacent buildings until they passed into the hands of the Understeward for the Royal Forest, Samuel Powell, when they were filed in the former old School House, next to the Castle, and where for many years the firm of Powell, Eddison, Freeman and Wilks had their offices.

These archives consisted of the records of the Royal Forest of Knaresborough, mostly in the form of rolls of court proceedings recorded on vellum or parchment. They ran from earliest times through to the reign of Charles 1^st, and the Civil War, as well as following centuries. In 1925, a change in the law caused the Duchy to remove the pre-Charles 1^st archives to London, where they were deposited in the Public Record Office in Chancery Lane. The post civil war material, however, remained with the Understeward in Knaresborough, where it was kept in the loft above Powell Eddison’s office. Over the decades, the Duchy archives were mixed with the records of the firm, and gradually became hidden under the piles of records that such an eminent firm as Powell Eddison’s inevitably created.

The Duchy material consisted of wills, land and property transfers, income from Duchy holdings, including farms, indentures for various services and agreements, letter books, surveys of land and property, maps, and various correspondence about grants and property. It was a treasure trove of life in the Royal Forest and greater Honour of Knaresborough. As such, it was of paramount interest to the Duchy to have access to it for the running of their modern business, which still involved them with considerable property holdings in the locality. Thus it was that armed with the Duchy’s request, and with the full permission of Powell Eddison, I climbed the ladders that led to a trap door opening into the loft of the former Old School House.

I was immediately faced with clean parcels of the firms own material, but beyond them on a series or wooden racks were many very much older parcels and volumes, the first one of which was a volume of Court records from 1623! Bingo! Next, I picked up a tube containing the hand-drawn proposals for the Great Award of 1778, which laid out the Stray. Then, a huge volume with the 1830 Scriven and Scotton enclosures. This was indeed the Duchy’s missing material, which was subsequently sorted from the material belonging to the firm, and  eventually removed to the Duchy Office in London before being mostly deposited in the new National Archives at Kew, mostly under classes D.30 and D.31.

I have in my life had only one “Indiana Jones” moment, and that occasion when I found the Duchy Archive was that moment, and for me, the find was infinitely more precious that all the golden relics or artefacts in the world, as it was lost knowledge, refound.

Malcolm Neesam.

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Did you know? 

The Stray Ferret has worked with Malcolm Neesam to produce two fantastic history audio tours of Harrogate.  Both last about an hour and are easy to do. The first will take you back to the golden age of Harrogate’s Victorian Spa days, the second will take you through the heart of the shopping district, stopping to learn about historic buildings as you go.  To take a look click here. 

Malcolm has also recently published a second major history of Harrogate. “Wells and Swells” covers the town’s Victorian heyday from 1842-1923. To find out more and how you can order a copy, click here.

As Harrogate celebrates the platinum jubilee, we asked for your memories of how you celebrated the Queen’s silver jubilee, which marked 25 years on the throne in 1977.

Back then, more than one million people lined the streets of London to watch the Royal Family in procession to St Paul’s cathedral, while millions more watched on TV and held street parties across the country.

In Harrogate there were street parties, galas and even a visit from the Queen herself, who attended the Great Yorkshire Show.

Great Yorkshire Show

Dave Smith said:

“I was working at Octavius Atkinsons at the time and we were given permission to go out onto Hookstone Chase to see her go past as she was leaving the Great Yorkshire Show.”

Nan Weeks said

“I Remember the Queen when she visited Harrogate, I was amazed how tiny she was. We were at the Great Yorkshire Show with a party from Killinghall School and it was Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh who came round where we were and chatted to some children.”

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Marianne Hopkinson said:

“I was in my last year at St. Peter’s primary school and we went to the Great Yorkshire Show. We were allowed to stand on the other side of the rope when she went past with Philip in a horse drawn carriage there. I also got a coin, which I still have, and a cup which got broken many years ago.”

Claire H. Beresford-Robinson also sent a photograph of the Queen looking at the work of Woodlands School pupils.

She said:

“Me and my friends at Woodlands School with headteacher, Mr Dunmore, in the background…”

Karen Wenham said:

“I remember when I was in my last year at Starbeck CP School and the Queen came to visit in 1977.  We all went up to the Great Yorkshire Showground and I took a posy of flowers for her. It always sticks in my mind.

“A couple of years ago I was invited to go to the palace, as I am an ambassador for a charity, and Sophie Wessex was lovely and we chatted.

“We were told the queen was in residence that night and not to be surprised if she came down with her corgis, as she likes to surprise people.

“I still have my silver jubilee coin in its case up in the loft.”

Knaresborough

Rick Vai sent a photo of the Queen visiting Knaresborough, which sparked memories from other residents.

Karen Allan said:

“They passed along King James Road, fronting King James School. We were all lined up for her.”

Sarah Brown added:

“I remember this. I was one of those school children lined up outside King James School in Knaresborough.”

Street parties

There were also memories of street parties across the Harrogate district.

Sharon Hopkins said:

Gary King said:

“We had a massive street party on Lime Street and Lime Grove and loads of us kids went in fancy dress.”

Christine Hemming added:

“As I remember, there was a competition for the best hat between the kids and Stephen won! Lime Street and Lime Grove were closed to traffic. Tables lined the street and all the Mums mucked in to provide the food.”

Bilton Gala

The first Bilton Gala took place in 1977 to mark the Queen’s silver jubilee and readers remember it well.

“I remember being on a float at the Bilton Gala. Not as easy as it looked, trying to stay on our feet! Got really involved after that then went onto the Committee. Happy days.”

“I was the baby (below) in the winning ‘best dressed pram’ competition for the Bilton 1977 jubilee celebrations.”

Celebrated Harrogate historian Malcolm Neesam has published a book documenting the golden age of the town’s spa past.

Mr Neesam began work in 2005 on Wells & Swells – The Golden Age of Harrogate Spa 1842-1923.

With more than 1600 pages of glorious detail it begins with the opening of Harrogate’s pump room and covers the town’s glory days at the height of the Victorian Spa boom. It ends with the construction of the war memorial after the First World War.

Mr Neesam said:

“The ‘swells’ in the book are mostly the grand visitors – kings, queens, grand dukes and duchesses and millionaires.

“The ‘wells’ are the Harrogate waters, which were exploited with every new discovery and promoted to cure different illnesses.”

The book is the second in a planned trilogy. The first history, The Great Chronicle, charts Harrogate from its earliest times to 1842.

Today’s launch, organised by Harrogate Civic Society at the Cedar Court Hotel, was attended by more than 150 people.

Mr Neesam has written more than a dozen histories relating to Harrogate. In 1996 he was awarded the Freedom of the Borough of Harrogate in recognition of his contribution to the town.

Stuart Holland, chair of the civic society, said:

“We learn from the past and it helps us plan for the future. The civic society has a huge role to play in studying the history of the town, take pride in the town and learn from the past.

“Malcolm was a founder member of Harrogate Civic Society and has inspired many to discover the history of their town.”

Today’s book launch.

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The book is published by Carnegie Publishing Ltd. Its managing director, Anna Goddard, told the Stray Ferret:

“There is nobody other than Malcolm Neesam who could have written this. The depth of the research, the detail of the writing, the quality and range of the illustrations he has selected are all second to none.

This book will last forever – it is a treasure for future generations”

If you wish to order a copy you can contact Carnegie Publishing here.

Mr Neesam will be at Woods of Harrogate tomorrow at 11am to celebrate his book and the 127th  anniversary of Woods as one of the oldest family-run business in the town.

On April 24 1982, millions of people from 30 countries had their eyes on Harrogate when the town hosted the 27th Eurovision Song Contest.

Four decades later, it seems almost unbelievable that little Harrogate got to host one of the biggest events in Europe. It turned out to be an occasion to remember.

Harrogate historian Malcolm Neesam recalls in one of his books:

“The contest itself was a great publicity coup for the town, generating a tremendous atmosphere.

“Michael Hine, former Harrogate tourism promotion manager, said ‘It was the most exciting event to work on and it promoted the newly built conference centre to the world… The atmosphere in the town was truly amazing. “

How the conference centre looked on the night.

On the four previous occasions the UK had staged the event, it had been held three times in London and once in Brighton. But in 1982, Harrogate had a shiny new conference centre up its sleeve when the search was on for a venue.

Philip Broadbank, who is the only surviving Harrogate borough councillor from 1982, looks back on the manoeuvrings that led to its selection and recalls the trial night.

Then Giles Rocholl, a 19-year-old trainee press photographer at the time, gives his memories of a week like no other in Harrogate’s history.

Philip Broadbank: ‘It showed Europe there was life outside London’

“When the UK won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1981 it was widely known that a UK venue would be needed and I think somewhere outside London was sought – probably to show the rest of Europe that there was life in the UK outside London!

It was known that the conference centre in Harrogate would be open and available for use and that it was big enough to host the event. Harrogate wanted something big to show the conference centre off and the organisers of the event were asked to consider Harrogate to host the venue. It was accepted as the venue and it was scheduled to be the big opening event of Harrogate Conference Centre.

I don’t recall any bids being made but the event was seen as a huge publicity boost for our district. I wasn’t involved in the behind-the-scenes negotiations and it was kept confidential until it was deemed certain to go ahead.

The signs on the convention centre.

I am the only councillor left who was on Harrogate Borough Council in 1982 and none of the staff involved then are still working for it. Tony Miles was the officer in charge of the centre – he passed away some time ago. Paul Lewis was deputy director of the conference centre and I think he is now living somewhere in Wales.

My recollection is that everybody involved the construction of the conference centre was confident that it would be open for business by April 1982. They were looking for a big event that would draw attention to the building and the district and when the UK won the 1981 contest.

In those days the venue was big enough to host the Eurovision Song Contest – something that would not be possible now. In March 1982 there were a couple of events held at the centre to test out the technical, organisation and sound arrangements and there was the trial run held on the Friday night. There was quite a buzz about the place because such an event with a potential live audience of around 250 million people certainly put the district on the map.

Jan Leeming looking at the scoreboard.

There was a dress rehearsal the night before and nearly 2,000 free tickets were distributed to local people to be in the audience. My wife and I were there and it was a great night with lots of interest and excitement both for the event itself and the opening of the centre after six long years and controversial problems and issues with the construction of the building.

We picked out the song that we thought would win – A Little Peace by Nicole of West Germany, which did indeed turn out to be the winner. There was one act, from Denmark whose singer jumped around on stage and hit a giant pom-pom on his head while singing the song in Danish. He stormed off stage halfway through his song because he resented the audience laughter at his act.

Nobody could understand why until the following night, when it was televised live, Terry Wogan explained it was a song about not having the nuclear bomb dropped on his head. Obviously the Friday night audience didn’t have the benefit of subtitles to read while the artists were performing.

The Eurovision Song Contest broadcast obviously put Harrogate on the European map that night and helped to promote the centre for bookings.”

Giles Rocholl: ‘It was a week-long festival of fun’

Photographer Giles Rocholl was a 19-year-old trainee press photographer at Ackrill Newspapers Group, which was based at Herald Buildings, Montpellier. The site later became the Slug & Lettuce pub.

“In the three years I had worked, this was by far the biggest news event the town had hosted. Swarms of photographers and news crews from all over Europe descended on Harrogate. The hotels were fully booked with parties and photo opportunities throughout the week running up to the big night.

Giles Rocholl (centre) with UK Eurovision entrants Bardo. Pic courtesy of Giles Rocholl

“It felt like a festival of fun and I managed to cover several events over the week. So many languages, colourful costumes, laughing and singing — it was an exciting and vibrant time.

“I was envious of the German photographers’ top of the range camera kit and particularly their Metz Flashguns — a beast of light production. I got one a few years later for myself.

“On the big night I remember having a brief chat with the late, great Terry Wogan and snapping a photo of my editor’s wife Rosie with him before the contest. Jan Leeming looked stunning and even more charming than she appeared on TV.

Giles Rocholl’s picture of West German winner Nicole. Pic courtesy of Giles Rocholl

“During the show the press had our own hall to view the events going on above us on stage at the conference centre and when the winner Nicole was announced the German photographers all leapt up and were overjoyed.

“We photographers were all escorted up to the stage by security and Nicole and her band were lined up ready for us. As we all filed in, I felt I could not get a good photo because I was squeezed out by the mass of photographers so I very naughtily broke ranks and went around the back of the performers as I saw they were turning around to wave and thank the audience.

“I managed to get the shot I wanted of Nicole and felt that having all the photographers in the background added to the focus on her. Happy days!”

On April 24 1982, some 300 million people from 30 countries watched the Eurovision Song Contest in Harrogate.

It remains perhaps the biggest occasion in the town’s history but strangely, you’ll struggle to find any evidence today that it ever took place.

There’s no plaque, no museum exhibition, no statue. Visitors think you’re winding them up when you point to Harrogate Convention Centre and say it hosted the event associated with Abba, Lulu, Terry Wogan and the dreaded ‘nul points’.

But it happened and as the 40th anniversary looms, we have compiled a two-part feature based on the memories of three people who were closely involved on the day, starting today with BBC presenter Jan Leeming.

At Eurovision, whichever country wins gets to host the event the following year so Bucks Fizz’s dress-tearing routine in 1981 triggered a search to find a venue. It would be the fifth time the UK had hosted the event. Three of the previous occasions were in London and one — famously in 1974 when Abba won — in Brighton. Since 1982, the UK has only won Eurovision in 1997.

The opening sequence of the BBC coverage answered the question ‘Where is Harrogate?’.

Tomorrow’s article will look in more detail about why Harrogate was chosen.

But the decision to select a small, relatively unknown town prompted the BBC to begin its more than two-hour live broadcast, which can be viewed here, with a five-minute sequence enlightening viewers to the joys of places like the Stray and the Drum and Monkey.

The phrase ‘Where is Harrogate?’ was emblazoned across the screen in each of the languages of the countries taking part and was followed by a montage of scenes depicting Harrogate as some kind of middle England utopia full of beautiful people, elegant shops and idyllic countryside.

The sequence ended with smiling couples stepping out of limousines at the convention centre on the night of the big event to see if the British pop duo Bardo could win. They couldn’t, eventually fading to seventh behind Nicole, whose song A Little Peace became West Germany’s first ever success. Here are the memories from the woman who held the night together.

Jan Leeming: ‘I was thrilled, flattered — and very worried!’

Speaking to the Stray Ferret, Jan Leeming recalls:

“My agent rang up and said ‘the BBC would like you to present Eurovision’. I was thrilled, flattered and very worried because Katie Boyle had presented it previously and she was fluent in French. Back then the presenter had to speak in English and French. I am an actress and, apparently, I have a good French accent but I am not fluent.

I was told I’d got the job just as my husband and I were going on holiday to Hong Kong so I took the script in my suitcase and learned it while we were away because the camera at the event would be too far away to read the autocue.

Sitting on an accordion outside the convention centre. Pic courtesy of Jan Leeming

I think I arrived in Harrogate a day, maybe two, in advance. There was only one proper rehearsal so we didn’t have much time. When I wasn’t working I was mainly ensconced in a hotel — I can’t remember which one — but I did get a flavour of Harrogate because they took all the contestants around town to do some filming. My best and oldest friend lives in Leeds and I have been to Harrogate with her several times since. It’s a really beautiful town.

Eurovision was the kind of thing the BBC did very well in those days. It was a huge production, with Michael Hurll as overall director. There were 18 countries taking part and 30 countries watching. Every country took their feed from the BBC and had people working on booths at the convention centre. Terry Wogan was working in one of the booths but our paths didn’t cross.

Jan in the dress she didn’t choose to wear. Pic courtesy of Jan Leeming

All 18 countries’ songs were accompanied by the BBC Radio Orchestra. The orchestra was led by Ronnie Hazlehurst but each country brought out their own conductor for their performance.

It was the only time the BBC ever paid for my wardrobe. I had to pay for the clothes I wore when I was reading the news and when I was representing the BBC at evening events. One of my favourite designers was Gina Fratini and I thought it was a wonderful opportunity to wear one of her dresses but the BBC said it would have been too much like an advert for her and I could have a dress made in-house instead. It was a very nice dress but not one I would have chosen, so it was a bit of a sore point. I wouldn’t have minded if the BBC had always paid for my clothes!

Looking up at the scoreboard.

I was paid £1,000 to present Eurovision. My salary when I went from radio to TV was £10,500 and then it gradually increased over several years. In 1982 I was earning about £13,000. So to be paid about £1,000 to present Eurovision was fantastic. In those days men were paid far more than women and we had to put up with it. As one person told me when I remonstrated — “if you don’t like it, Miss Leeming, there’s the door”.

My nerves were awful when I walked out at the start of the show. I do remember writing in my diary that I would have given anything for a train ticket home. Most actors and presenters tell you nerves never leave you and frankly, they’re what enhance your performance.

It turned out to be a wonderful occasion. I don’t remember much about the show but I remember the party afterwards because the Spanish guitarist asked me to dance. He tossed me around the floor and then wrote on my invitation to the party ‘mi casa, su casa’ (my house is your house) — and I never saw him again! I kept that invitation until a few years ago.

The cake sent by Silvio’s. Pic courtesy of Jan Leeming

There was a business in Harrogate called Silvio’s and it sent me the most beautiful cake, which obviously was shared out amongst the crew. But I didn’t stay long afterwards. I had a husband and a son to get home to.

The UK didn’t host Eurovision again for years because we didn’t win it again until 1997 and the winners got to host it the following year. Then in 2003 we got ‘nul points’.

I wouldn’t have chosen the winning song. I was very surprised that it won. It was called A Little Peace and it was sung by a German girl called Nicole who went on to have a long career, in fact I think she’s still going. But there was more variety and individuality to the songs then. They all seem to be written to the same format now. Everybody copies everyone else. But perhaps I’m only saying that because I’m an old lady now!

Wearing her Eurovision dress shortly before it was auctioned. Pic courtesy of Jan Leeming

The BBC gave me the Eurovision dress and I kept it for years, waiting to find it an appropriate home. Eventually I gave it to Celebrity Cash in the Attic to be sold by auction in 2014 because I wanted to promote the male testicular cancer charity Orchid. It was auctioned in Chiswick and went for £250.

Prior to 1982 the UK had won Eurovision five times. Since 1982 we have only won it once. Terry Wogan sort of made fun of it and I don’t think the English take it seriously enough. Sweden apparently runs six weeks of heats. Terry called it the Euro Yawn or the Euro Bore but back then it was watched by over 300m people. I looked up what it gets these days and now with all the hype it only gets 100m.

Mind you there wasn’t that much telly around back then. Now you have 360 channels and nothing to watch. Everything was a bit different in the 1980s. It was before the cult of celebrity and social media. I don’t seem to recall it having all the razzmatazz of Eurovisions today.

Eurovision wasn’t quite the pinnacle of my career: the pinnacle was a documentary I made after five years of research into a free French pilot called Rene Mouchotte whose name is on the Battle of Britain memorial. You can watch it here. That was the biggest achievement of my career. But Eurovision was very near the pinnacle. It was an absolute honour and privilege to present it.

Jan Leeming’s new podcast Addicted to Love is now available on Spotify, iTunes etc. Further information is available here or on Twitter @Jan_Leeming.

The news that we are all facing extraordinary rises in energy prices, together with the forthcoming reorganisation of local government are but two aspects of the great lie and con trick played on us by decades of politicians and career officers, that bigger is always better.

It is this grotesque fallacy that has led to local people losing control of the services that they originally created, financed and administered, in exchange for services controlled by strangers for whom the screwing of as much profit as possible from their reluctant customers, with as low a service as possible, seems their only purpose.

Let me provide some examples relating to Harrogate, with the reorganisation of local government being a particularly topical issue.

Local government

The liars say that Harrogate has too small a population to be a unitary authority. Of course they say this, as it is in their interests to promote the concept of big authorities, as salaries and payments are invariably higher when applied to responsibility for a larger population as against a smaller one. They will say that the merging of – say – six local authorities will mean one chief executive instead of six, one borough planner instead of six, one treasurer, instead of six, etc. etc. Whereas in truth, the savings come at the dire cost of local people becoming further removed from control over the services for which they are paying.

Harrogate too small to be a unitary authority. Rubbish! Today, the Harrogate district’s population is around 161,000, that of the town being little over 75,000. Yet when Harrogate town had a population of only 26,583, about two thirds smaller than the Harrogate town of today, it was able from the yield of its local rates, to build the Royal Baths, the Royal Hall, a gigantic series of reservoirs and an unequalled water distribution network, to run its own electricity works, to build and run its own schools and pay the staff salaries, to administer its own fire services, run its own public health facilities and many other things. All this was possible because Harrogate had the authority to levy its own council rates (and to keep the greater part of the income) and for Harrogate’s Council to spend the proceeds in ways permitted by Acts of Parliament.

The Royal Hall, previously known as the Kursaal, at height of Edwardian season. Pic: Walker-Neesam archive

Yet today, thanks to the gradual erosion of local democracy, the present North Yorkshire County Council takes the vast majority of every pound paid in council tax by Harrogate residents, with much less going to Harrogate Borough Council. Is it any wonder that our democratically elected Harrogate borough councillors are hamstrung at every turn when they try to provide the services demanded by local residents? The secret of true local democracy has little to do with population sizes, and everything to do with financial control, which must include the power to set local taxation and the power to spend such taxation within the town that supplied it – such powers being determined by Parliamentary authority.

Naturally North Yorkshire’s councillors and career officers will seek to expand their spheres of influence, and to retain and enhance their existing stranglehold on Harrogate – it is absolutely in their interests to do so. But history shows that their ever increasing power to control our lives has been at the cost of local representation and accountability. The latest calamitous “reforms” of local government will further reduce the rights and powers of local people to control their own lives, with Harrogate becoming further prey to the financial leech which is bleeding the town to finance road repairs in Tadcaster, libraries in Skipton, schools in Easingwold, and social services in Selby.

Nevertheless, it remains my hope that one day – maybe in 50 or 100 years time – Harrogate will regain powers to control its own finances, and re-establish democratic control of its affairs by its citizenry.

Gas

When some Harrogate people decided the town should have access to a supply of gas, they obtained an enabling Act of Parliament in 1846, after which a gas works was built at Rattle Crag financed by local private shareholders.

After overcoming initial difficulties with the Improvement Commissioners, the gas company supplied the lighting of the public streets as well as gas for residential and commercial use. The profits produced went back into improving the gas plant and paying the salaries of those employed in the work, many of whom lived at New Park.

After several extensions of its area of supply, Harrogate’s gas company was nationalised by the Gas Act of 1948, which merged some 1,062 privately owned and municipal gas companies into 12 area gas boards.

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The York, Harrogate and District group of gas companies had already merged on 1 January 1944, comprising Harrogate, York, Malton and Easingwold, which were joined by the Yeadon, Guisley, and Otley companies on 1 October 1946. This arrangement, however, barely survived for two years, until the 1948 Gas Act changed everything.

With every enlargement, control of the manufacture, distribution and pricing of gas passed further away from the people who had created the company, and for whom its products were intended, to huge, impersonal and uncaring conglomerates.

This process has continued to this day, resulting in the crazy situation that Harrogate’s gas customers now have absolutely no control over the gas they use nor the rate at which it is priced. What would those Victorian founders have said on hearing that we are to some extent reliant on Russia for the continuance of our gas supplies?

Electricity

Electricity works opening ceremony in 1897. Pic: Walker-Neesam archive

In order to provide the people of Harrogate with an alternative to gas, Harrogate Corporation’s elected representatives built a Municipal Electricity Undertaking near to the site of the present Hydro, which opened in 1897.

The people’s democratically elected councillors regulated the supply and pricing of electricity with regard to the local situation, so that when in 1933, at the height of the terrible depression, many were experiencing economic hardship, the council reduced the unit cost of electricity from one penny to three-farthings.

When war came in 1939, Harrogate’s Electricity Undertaking was supplying 20,670 consumers, and selling 26,815,046 units of power, with a gross income of £178,857.

By the end of the year to March 1945, those figures had increased to 21,977 consumers, selling 39,254,676 units of power, with a gross income of £242,412 – an incredible achievement given the conditions of war time operation.

But in 1948, and by order of the government’s Electricity Act of 1947, Harrogate’s Electricity Undertaking was transferred to the enormous new British Electricity Board and thus removed from the town a valuable asset which had hitherto been controlled by local people.

Water

Turning on the reservoir water. Pic: Walker-Neesam archive

Just the same thing as described above applies to water. When a group of local people raised money to establish the Harrogate Water Company, following a Parliamentary Act of 1846, the townspeople supported the project, and the little company grew as the town grew.

In 1897, an Act of Parliament empowered Harrogate Corporation to buy out the private water company, which was then run purely for the benefit of the townspeople. Under the inspirational leadership of Alderman Charles Fortune, the corporation undertook a massive programme of reservoir and distribution construction, which ensured Harrogate had an adequate supply of water for the next 50 years.

Harrogate’s municipal water undertaking was one of the jewels in Harrogate’s crown until the 1945 Water Act, which paved the way for the creation of the huge Claro Water Board in 1958/9, which covered an area of 420 square miles, between one fifth and one sixth of the area of the West Riding of Yorkshire, with a population of 119,000. On such a scale, it was inevitable that the concern would no longer be run purely in the interests of the people of Harrogate, nor would its profits be returned to the local economy.

Malcolm Neesam, Harrogate-based historian

A Harrogate historian has written a book about the lives of working-class people during the Edwardian period in Harrogate.

This will be the fifth book by Dr Paul Jennings, who has lived in Harrogate for 25 years.

He said Harrogate’s rich and lavish past is often documented but the lives and names of people who helped to build the town are lost to history.

The book, ‘Working-Class lives in Edwardian Harrogate’, looks at the lives of numerous working-class professions including servants, hospitality staff, rail workers and industry workers.

Around 3,000 women worked as servants in Harrogate during the Edwardian period, 1901-1914, which was a lot more than other sectors.

The book also looks at education for poorer people, local amusements and some of the rich families they worked for.

Anyone interested in local history may know the name Samson Fox, he was mayor of Harrogate three times between 1890 and 1892 an also brought Harrogate with its first steam fire engine, built the Grove Road School, funded the Royal Hall and provided affordable social housing.

Another local life examined in the book is Richard Ellis who funded the Queen Victoria statues which still stands across from the train station.

Dr Jennings said:

“I was more interested in the names people don’t often remember. I spent a lot of time in Northallerton’s record office as well as local libraries. Some schools were also kind enough to let me go through their historical records.

“It was seriously enjoyable doing it.”

Read more:

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• Story of the lone Japanese First World War soldier buried in Ripon

The idea for the book came around seven years ago.

Dr Jennings became inspired when he started researching the Edwardian period, 1901 to 1914. It was the period Harrogate really boomed, well-known buildings such as the Harrogate Theatre, the Majestic Hotel and the Royal Baths were being built around this time.

Dr Jennings is a retired history lecturer from the University of Bradford and also a member of the Harrogate Civic Society.

He said he has no current plans to write another book on Harrogate but has plenty of work lined up with the civic society.

The book is also in conjunction with an upcoming exhibition at the Pump Room Museum, which has a provisional opening date of December 2.

Places that are usually closed to the public are preparing to open their doors for free as part of Heritage Open Days, which starts on Friday and ends on September 19.

About 30 venues in the Harrogate district are among the hundreds taking part in the event, which is coordinated nationally by the National Trust.

In Harrogate, a number of events are being organised by Harrogate Civic Society. Some events require advanced booking, and some are already fully booked.Bookworms can learn about the history of, and resources held, at Harrogate Library in tours on Tuesday 14 and Wednesday 15 September.

The private chapel at Rudding Park will be open to visitors. Image: Rudding Park

On both Sunday September 12 and 19, the newly restored old magnesia well pump room in Valley Gardens will be open to visitors. Elsewhere, the private chapel at Rudding Park will be open for people to admire its spectacular architecture and masonry, on Tuesday 14 and Wednesday 15 September.

Read More:

• Rich history of Ripon church opened to visitors

• Local historian creates audio walks celebrating Harrogate’s glorious past

There is an emphasis on outdoor activities, with several local walking tours in the line-up all week – including around Crescent Gardens, Valley Drive, New Park, and central Harrogate.

At Stonefall Cemetery, tours of the 1,000 Commonwealth war graves are taking place throughout the week.

Stonefall Cemetery tours will take place on Saturday 11th, Wednesday 15th, Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th September.

Elsewhere in the district, on Friday 10 September, there’s the chance to explore the once luxury royal residence of Knaresborough Castle Keep, including the king’s chamber and dungeon.

Free entry will also be available for visitors to the Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal World Heritage Site on Saturday 18 September.

In Ripon, options to explore include St Wilfrid’s church, the Chapel of St Mary Magdalen, and the Ripon & District Light Railway.

Sarah Holloway, programme manager for Heritage Open Days, said:

“We’re all interested in where we live but we don’t necessarily know the stories behind the buildings and spaces we walk past each day. Our event organisers keep finding creative ways to tell these tales and keep them alive.”