Harrogate

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{{infobox UK place||country = England|official_name= Harrogate|latitude= 53.9930|longitude= -1.5324|population = 85,128 (with Knaresborough)|shire_district= Harrogate (borough)|region= Yorkshire and the Humber|shire_county = North Yorkshire|post_town= HARROGATE|postcode_district = HG1, HG2, HG3|postcode_area= HG|dial_code= 01423|os_grid_reference= SE306553|london_distance=|static_image=|static_image_caption=Harrogate Cenotaph-->

Harrogate is a large town in [North Yorkshire, England. It is part of the larger Harrogate (borough) local government district. It lies close to Knaresborough - the urban area of the two towns had a population of 85,128 according to the 2001 census, and is now estimated to be over 90,000. Office for National Statistics: Census 2001, Key Statistics for urban areas

History Prior to the discovery of its naturally iron and sulfur rich water, Harrogate was two minor villages (High Harrogate and Low Harrogate) close to the historic town of Knaresborough. The first mineral spring in Harrogate was discovered in 1571 by William Slingsby, who found that water from the Tewitt Well possessed similar properties to that from the springs of the Belgian town of Spa, Belgium, which gave its name to spa towns. The medicinal properties of the waters were more widely publicised by one Edmund Deane, whose book, Spadacrene Anglica, or the English Spa Fountain was published in 1626. Following this Harrogate developed considerable fame as a spa town.

Today the site of the Tewitt Well is marked by a dome within the Stray, an area of open parkland some 200 acres (800,000 m²) in size that runs through the centre of the town. The Harrogate Stray was created in 1778 by an act of Parliament. The act fixed the size of the Stray at , and even now when part of it is removed, due to road expansion etc, it must be replaced elsewhere. During the Victorian period, part of the Stray hosted a racecourse (horses). Other wells can be found in Harrogate's Valley Gardens and the Royal Pump Room museum.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Harrogate was extremely popular among the English élite and was frequented by nobility from around Europe. Its popularity declined after World War I. During World War II, however, Harrogate's large hotels accommodated government offices that had been evacuated from London. This paved the way for the town's current function as a commercial, conference, and exhibition centre. The town hosted the 1982 Eurovision Song Contest.

In 2007, two metal detectorists found the Harrogate hoard, a 10th century Viking treasure hoard near Harrogate. The hoard contains almost 700 coins and other items from as far away as Afghanistan. The hoard was described by the British Museum as the most important find of its type in Britain for 150 years.

Places of interest There are many fine examples of building and architecture about the town, including the Royal Hall theatre, a Grade II listed building designed by Frank Matcham. As the only surviving Kursaal in Britain, the Royal Hall is an important national heritage building. Royal Hall history Restoration work began in early 2006.

Harrogate is now one of Europe's largest exhibition and conference centres including the Harrogate International Centre and has many guest houses, hotels and restaurants catering for the regular influx of visitors. The town also acts, to some extent, as a dormitory town for commuters working in the cities of Leeds and Bradford. Harrogate is very prosperous and as such has some of the highest property prices in the North of England with many £1 million+ properties in the town and surrounding villages.

Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate are a regionally renowned tearooms. They are owned by Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate - the same company that makes the more nationally well-known Yorkshire Tea. Bettys also has cafés in York (2 tearooms), Ilkley, and Northallerton, and has recently (2005) opened a second one in Harrogate at the Harlow Carr Gardens. It famously has over fifty tea pots located around the tea rooms. Betty's opening news

Harrogate hosts the Great Yorkshire Show annually.

Awards Harrogate was the winner of the 2003 Britain in Bloom in the category of 'Large Town'. From there it went on to win the European Entente Florale competition in 2004. This reprises its win in the first ever Entente Florale competition in 1977.

In 2005, a Channel 4 TV show listed Harrogate as the UK's 3rd best place to live. In 2006 it came 4th in the same league; the programme claimed that it placed lower due to "a slight dip in exam results", though presenter Phil Spencer noted that it was his personal favourite. Channel 4 Best & Worst

Sport Rugby union, Football (soccer), cricket, water polo and Field Hockey are popular sports in Harrogate.

Harrogate Town F.C. situated on Wetherby Road play in the Conference North division and finished 6th in the season. They have a natural, good-natured rivalry with newly promoted Harrogate Railway Athletic F.C., of the Northern Premier League First Division, located at Station View.

Harrogate RUFC is a National 2 division team and based out of Claro Road. They also have plenty of clubs for cricket, football and rugby union which include schools and also local clubs.

Bilton Cricket Club, situated off Bilton Lane provides opportunities for players of all ages to play in Local League Cricket, Bilton Cricket Club have a good natured rivalry with Harrogate Cricket Club with Bilton defeating Harrogate in their last clash at St Georges Road in the Black Sheep Trophy in 2006. Harrogate cricket club is one of the strongest clubs in the Yorkshire league. Until 1995 the town hosted one Yorkshire county game per year at the St George's cricket ground.

Running is also a popular sport at Nidd Valley Road Runners, who share the premises of Harrogate Railway Athletic FC and at Harrogate Harriers, who run from Harrogate Squash Club on Harlow Hill. Members compete in road races, cross-country and fell races or simply run for fun and to keep fit.

Other The town is served by four railway stations: Harrogate railway station, Hornbeam Park railway station, Pannal railway station (towards Leeds) and Starbeck railway station on the Harrogate Line to Knaresborough and York. Harrogate is strongly connected to Leeds. Road transport to Leeds is via the A61 road.

The local radio stations are BBC Radio York on 104.3 & 103.7FM and 97.2 Stray FM on 97.2FM.

The MP for Harrogate is Phil Willis, a Liberal Democrats.

Harrogate is a flavour of Mackintosh's Toffee.

Harrogate Nights (cocktail), a popular alcoholic beverage was created in Harrogate.

Schools

Ashville College
Harrogate Grammar School
Harrogate High School
Harrogate Ladies College
Harrogate Tutorial College
Rossett School
St. Aidan's C of E High School
St. John Fisher Catholic High School (Harrogate)

Suburbs Oatlands is a suburb in the south of Harrogate. The suburb includes 2 schools, Oatlands Primary School and Oatlands Infant School, and a set of allotments.

Woodlands, is a large predominately working class area of the town covering a part of the south east of Harrogate. Neighbouring the districts of Starbeck/Knareborough Road. It is home to Harrogate town football club, Woodlands primary school, Morrisons and Sainsburys supermarkets as well as the Woodlands pub. Although Harrogate in general is known as a wealthy Yorkshire town parts of the south easten fringe have suffered from poverty/domestic issuses. Woodlands has been the scene of many Gang related attacks some involving drive by shootings over recent years which are linked to local gang 'woodlands man dem'. The area gained a notorious reputation for the infamous 'Woodlands riots' in 1987.

Sister cities Harrogate is a sister city of the following cities around the world.

- Luchon, France (Since 1952)
- Wellington, New Zealand
- Harrogate, Tennessee, Tennessee, United States