Harrogate Mayor to open new resource at West Park Centre in boost for tourism industry
A new Visitor Information Centre is to be officially launched in Harrogate next week in a major boost for tourism.
This new information resource, which is run entirely by volunteers, is housed in the striking Grade II-listed United Reformed Church on the corner of Victoria Avenue and West Park and has been made possible as part of a successful bid by the West Park Centre, to the Vibrant and Sustainable High Street Fund established by David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire.
The launch will take place on Tuesday, June 23 at Harrogate’s West Park Centre by Coun Viv Poskitt, Mayor of Harrogate.
The church itself has a long history, being part of the original Victoria Park development, welcoming visitors to the town.
Today it is both an active church and a community centre and hosts a fascinating exhibition about the history of Harrogate alongside numerous cultural and community events.
Chris Holland, Administrator, at West Park Centre, said: "This wonderful new resource for Harrogate will offer heritage information, leaflets, maps and suggested walks.
"Small wonder this beautiful town, is going from strength to strength.”
Harrogate’s fame is built on the discovery from 1571 onwards of multiple extraordinary mineral springs, believed to have numerous different healing properties.
Over the following centuries Harrogate developed into a leading and elegant international spa resort, frequented by the wealthy, the famous and the aristocracy.
Famous visitors over the years included a young Lord Byron, Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde, Edward Elgar, whose daily constitutional walk in Valley Gardens is commemorated by The Elgar Walk, and, of course, crime author Agatha Christie, who sought refuge in the Old Swan Hotel in 1926 under an alias.
European links and especially Russian connections were strong. Princess Alix of Hesse, later Tsarina Alexandra of Russia, came to Harrogate to undergo a cure.
The Grand Duchess Maria Georgievna, a first cousin of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and of King George V. lived in Harrogate during the First World War and not only funded but also worked as a nurse in three local military hospitals.
For more information, visit: https://www.westparkcentre.org.uk/