The Sun Pavilion and Colonnade in Harrogate has been given Grade II listed status as part of the Queen’s platinum jubilee.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has announced six new sites across the country will be given the status.

The Sun Pavilion and Colonnade were constructed in 1933 to designs by Leonard Clarke, the borough surveyor, as part of a £60,000 spa development scheme intended to be one of the finest in Europe.

The classical building with Art Deco details was opened by noted medic Lord Horder of Ashford and the opening ceremony was captured on film by British Pathé. The pavilion was designed as a place to take refreshment and rest after taking exercise or after taking the spa waters in the town centre.

After a period of decline in the 1980s, the site was restored following a campaign led by local citizen Anne Smith and supported by celebrities including author James Herriot.

In 1998, the Sun Pavilion was officially re-opened by Queen Elizabeth II, and in 2018 celebrations were held to mark the 20th anniversary of Her Majesty’s visit.

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“These new listings celebrate the diversity and richness of our heritage overseen by Her Majesty during her 70-year reign, showing how the fabric of the nation has changed and developed.

“These sites cover the length and breadth of the country – from All Saints’ Church near Birmingham, which she opened in 1955 when she was newly crowned, to the high-tech Hampshire Public Records Office, completed in 1993.”

Nigel Huddleston, heritage minister, added:

“These historic sites provide a fantastic opportunity to reflect on how much life in the UK has changed during Her Majesty The Queen’s 70-year reign. Listing them as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations is a fitting way to pay tribute to the longevity of her service.”

What makes a good town crier?

Knaresborough’s Roger Hewitt says surprisingly, it’s not all about how loud you shout:

“You have to shout but a big voice is not enough. You have to be able to write your own stuff, it has to be engaging. It’s all about intonation, accuracy, engaging your audience and doing your best. It’s a good thing that volume isn’t the main thing!

The town crier is gearing up for a busy four-day weekend in early June, with the town’s Platinum Jubilee committee organising a huge list of events to celebrate the Queen’s 70 years on the throne.

Mr Hewitt says he’ll available whenever his town needs him.

One of his most important jobs will be leading a flag procession from the Market Place to the grounds of Knaresborough House for the Jubilee Garden Party.

He’s also written a special message to deliver on market day that pays tribute to Her Majesty.

Service to the town

Mr Hewitt has lived in Knaresborough for 45 years and has been the town crier for 8.

He dons his 18th-century-inspired robe, laces up his boots and rings his bell every Wednesday at the market, with one week off a year in between Christmas and new year.

The role is organised by the Knaresborough Chamber of Trade & Commerce and Mr Hewitt joked the unusual role came about through a promotion.

“I was the Chamber’s Santa Claus at the market, they said ‘you’re used to wearing silly costumes’, and I was asked if I’d become the town crier.”

Long lineage

Knaresborough’s town crier lineage goes back to 1680.

In the old days, they would inform the townspeople of the latest news, proclamations, bylaws and any other important information, as at the time most people were illiterate and could not read.

“The town crier was the local literate, then it went to hell when it came to me!”

Mr Hewitt’s role today is not too dissimilar to how it was hundreds of years ago, although he quipped that today, most locals tend to get their news from the Stray Ferret.

He called Sid Bradley, who was the town crier in the 1980s and 1990s, “absolutely brilliant and the town crier that everybody would have liked to be.”

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Photo credit: Charlotte Gale

Former teacher

Mr Hewitt is well known to pupils of Harrogate Grammar School where he was a legendary chemistry teacher from 1991 until he retired in 2014.

He said his experience managing teenagers in the classroom has made him an even better town crier.

“Being a teacher helped tremendously.

“Somebody said to me recently, you don’t shout, you talk loud.

“That comes from teaching, particularly being a science teacher. When there are practical experiments going on in the classroom you can’t shout.”

Mr Hewitt has had a few unusual run-ins during his time as a town crier, including an encounter with a hen party that he called “the most harrowing day of my life”.

Good for the town

Hopefully, Mr Hewitt will be entertaining and informing visitors to Knaresborough for years to come.

He added:

“People come up to me and say ‘can I take your photo?’ I say yes, it’s complusory.

“Everytime they take a photo they take a bit of Knaresborough away.”

The Princess Royal is to attend this year’s Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate.

Princess Anne will attend on the first day of the four-day show, Tuesday, July 12. She has visited the show numerous times, most recently in 2018.

She is patron of the Beef Shorthorn Cattle Society and the Shorthorn Society of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and will be attending to celebrate 200 years of the Shorthorn breed.

The Tuesday will include a celebration day of the Shorthorn breed. Some 200 Shorthorns will participate in a parade at the showground.

Show director Charles Mills said:

“We are honoured that Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal will be visiting the Great Yorkshire Show and I shall be proud to accompany her throughout.

“This will be a very special year for the Shorthorn breed and a what better way to mark the anniversary than with a visit from their patron and a wonderful royal visitor.”

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The farming and countryside showcase expects to welcome around 35,000 visitors each day to watch competitive classes, animal showcases and to sample to local produce in the food hall.

Ripon paint specialists T&R Williamson have played a part in painting the popular steam train Taw Valley “platinum purple” ahead of the Queen’s jubilee.  

T&R Williamson hold a Royal warrant for their supply of products to the Royal household, used for the Royal mews and Royal carriages.  

Group chairman Abubaker Sheibani said:  

“We are thrilled to have been able to extend this Royal connection to this unique project. It is a fitting and truly memorable way of commemorating Her Majesty becoming the first British monarch in history to reign for 70 years.” 

After a public vote at Severn Valley Railway, it was decided the train will be renamed Elizabeth II during the jubilee celebrations. 

The royal project has also attracted the attention of leading British model company, Hornby, who are producing a collector’s model of the new purple locomotive.  

T&R Williamson, along with Thomas-Howse Paints and Metprint Ltd, have created a “platinum purple” paint tin to mark the occasion. It will be filled with traditional sweets and transforms into a money-box when empty.    

Harrogate estate agent makes historic land sale deal for £4 million

Harrogate estate agent Linley & Simpson has sold a patch of land in North Yorkshire for over £4 million.  

The land in Church Fenton has been bought by Yorkshire Country Properties, which plans to build 50 new homes on the residential site.  

This sale is the biggest this year for the award-winning land and new homes team at Linley & Simpson, and is one of the company’s most significant deals.  

Director David Waddington said:  

“Given the coveted location, there was no shortage of interest among developers in the site, which was sold with full planning permission”.  

The agency says North Yorkshire house buyers are increasingly turning to new builds post-Covid, particularly for family homes in rural areas. They suggest this is also a result of rising energy costs across the country.  

They are hoping this trend will continue, creating more demand among developers for land in prime locations across the region.  

Harrogate Borough Council has given a total of £37,000 to 46 different community groups to fund events and legacy projects for the Queen’s platinum jubilee.

The four-day weekend from June 2 to 5 will be marked by numerous events across the district.

The money issued by the council has helped to hold events in towns and villages such as Ripon, Skelton-Cum-Newby, Little Ouseburn and Bishop Monkton.

Organisers of Bishop Monkton’s platinum jubilee celebrations said the money has helped them expand on their initial plans:

“We are now able to make two films – one using archive footage and interviews with long-standing residents and a film of this year’s celebrations in the village.

“In addition, the grant is enabling a time capsule project involving Bishop Monkton Primary School where everyday objects from 2022 chosen by school pupils will be buried near the village hall for future generations to discover.”

In Skelton-cum-Newby, the parish council said the grant will enable its celebrations to be “truly memorable”:

“We are now able to engage a professional artist to supply music on the day and have ordered commemorative mugs for all our children in the village to mark a reign which will most likely never be repeated again.”

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Councillor Richard Cooper, leader of Harrogate Borough Council, said:

 “Her Majesty The Queen is the first British monarch to celebrate a platinum jubilee and it is therefore only right we recognise this momentous event in such a way.

“I’m sure that the residents – young and old – who are involved in the festivities of these 46 community groups will remember this event for many, many years to come.

“And of course, there are events happening all across the district. Not least, a four-day event across Harrogate town centre that will truly bring the community and visitors to our wonderful town together.”

With less than three weeks to go until the Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations begin, preparations are already under way across the Harrogate district.

Bunting has gone up in Harrogate town centre, while knitters in Ripon have put together a fitting royal display.

Knaresborough Business Collective has joined in the fun by putting up commemorative flags outside shops across the town, with even more being added this week.

Knaresborough

The town has plenty of plans for celebrations throughout the jubilee weekend, as do many communities across the district.

Ripon and Harrogate have also dressed up the streets in preparation for the four-day party.

The Stray Ferret has put together a comprehensive guide to what’s happening across the four days. You can find the full details here.

Knaresborough

Bunting on High Skellgate in Ripon.

Bunting going up in Harrogate this week.

If your street, village or town is putting up decorations to mark the occasion, let us know by emailing details and photographs to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

The streets of Harrogate have been adorned with 4km of jubilee bunting to celebrate the Queen’s 70 years on the throne.

The bunting has been bought by Harrogate Business Improvement District, with help from Harrogate Borough Council’s Welcome Back Fund.

Leftover bunting will be given to businesses within the levy area free of charge.

Streets the BID has dressed in a mixture of red, white and blue, various colours and ‘jubilee purple’ are:

• Market Place
• Cambridge Street
• Oxford Street
• Cambridge Road
• Commercial Street
• Beulah Street
• James Street
• Princess Street

Businesses within Harrogate’s town centre pay the BID 1.5% of their rateable value a year on top of their usual business rates. Harrogate BID, which drives footfall to the town centre, brings in around £500,000 from local firms.

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Matthew Chapman, Harrogate BID manager, said:

“With the bunting now adorning town centre streets, Harrogate’s countdown to the Queen’s platinum jubilee has well and truly started.

“And whatever bunting is left over, we have separated in to 10m strips for businesses from with the BID levy area to put up outside their premises free of charge.

“In the next week or so, the hanging baskets with red, white and blue flowers, will also start appearing, giving the town a colourful, floral lift.”

A big screen on the Stray, picnics and live music will be at the centre of Harrogate’s four-day programme of events celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Destination Harrogate and Harrogate Business Improvement District today revealed plans to commemorate the Queen’s 70-year reign over the bank holiday weekend from June 2 to 5.

Part of the Stray will be transformed into Jubilee Square. It will include a large stage and video screens to broadcast the Queen’s birthday parade.

Films will be shown and there will also be a dog show and a Harrogate mastermind quiz.

The town centre will be adorned with 4km of bunting and there will be six sets of street entertainers performing across the four days.

Valley Gardens will also host a free family festival, which will feature jugglers, magicians, choirs and fairground rides. An artisan market will also be held Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Valley Gardens’ Sun Colonnades.

Gemma Rio, head of Destination Harrogate, said:

“By providing a large stage and video screens for The Stray and a family festival in Valley Gardens, we’re also showcasing why Harrogate is a great events destination.

“We hope that our residents and visitors will take the opportunity to enjoy the events happening in these glorious outdoor spaces, and experience the town centre buzzing with activity and entertainment for such a jubilant occasion.”

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Matthew Chapman, Harrogate BID manager, said:

“Our Jubilee Square will be a place for families and friends to bring a picnic, watch events happening live in London via our big screen, enjoy – and participate in – a variety of fun events and activities, or to simply chill out and relax.”

Harrogate District’s Chamber of Commerce is due to hold its monthly Business Safari event.

The members-only speed networking event will be held next week at St George’s Hotel.

You can sign up to the monthly agenda through the Harrogate Chamber website.

Plant competition for school children hosted by Johnsons of Whixley

Johnsons of Whixley in Harrogate is holding a competition for primary school children.

To celebrate the Queen’s platinum jubilee and gardening, £250 worth of plants will be sent to the winner’s school, including ten plants for their own home garden. Those in second and third place will also win a plant.

Children under the age of 11 can participate by drawing an imaginative Jubilee Garden. The form can be downloaded here.

Children must create a drawing of a jubilee garden as part of the competition

JW is a three-generation run family business which grows and supplies trees, shrubs and plants to UK-wide planting schemes.

The company plays an active part in the community, having collected donations for Ukraine and providing plants to Baby Rainbow Memorial Garden last month.

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