Royal Baths, Crescent Rd, Harrogate, N Yorks, UK
Posted by: 
bill&ben
N 53° 59.671 W 001° 32.678
30U E 595408 N 5983891
A plaque on the front of the Royal Baths giving a brief history of the Baths.
Waymark Code: WMT886
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/13/2016
Views: 3
In 1887 Harrogate Corporation decided that it was time to upgrade its spa facilities. An international design competition was held under the leadership of George Corson, a Leeds architect. The winner of the competition, from twenty six entries, was Messrs Baggallay and Bristowe of London.
The new baths were built on a site occupied on by baths on the Montpelier Estate. In 1894 construction started on the baths, with the foundation stone laid by Mayor Charles fortune on 25th April. The baths eventually cost £120,000 and were opened on 23 July 1897 by the Duke of Cambridge.
The Baths contained many types of bath and treatment rooms, including an opulent Turkish bath, one of only three remaining in England. However, by 1969 the treatment and consulting rooms closed and the Baths became the Assembly Rooms. Since 2002 a program of restoration has taken place returning the Turkish baths to their former glory and converting the pump room to a Chinese restaurant.
The plaque reads
The Royal Baths.
The Royal Baths were built from 1894-7 by London architects Bagalley and Bristowe, winners of the Harrogate Corporation competition and opened by H.R.H. The Duke of Cambridge on 23rd July 1897. The sulphur and kissingen springs beneath the building are amongst the finest in England. The major extension of 1936-9, designed by Leonard Clarke replaced the Winter Gardens with the Lounge Hall and Fountain Court. The development of the Royal Baths occurred a few years before the building of the Royal Hall and Roundhill Reservoir which together must represent an almost unparalleled example of municipal enterprise.
Type of Historic Marker: Plaque
Historical Marker Issuing Authority: Harrogate Borough Council
Age/Event Date: 01/01/1983
Related Website: [Web Link]
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