Remarkable revival of Harrogate’s historic The Club that was once ‘male only’
The Harrogate Club has celebrated 140 years at its home on Victoria Avenue with a celebratory cocktail party marking a new milestone in its remarkable history.
Founded in 1857 when Lord Palmerston was Prime Minister and established amid the tree-lined tranquility of Victoria Avenue in 1886, the Club remains an important part of the town’s heritage, with its historic rooms providing an elegant setting for the occasion.
Fiona Movley MBE, President of The Harrogate Club, said: “This is a landmark moment in our history.
"Within these walls lies a rich tapestry of Harrogate’s past and we are immensely proud of our place within the heritage of our town.
"Most importantly, it is the friendships and fellowship of our members that continue to bring the Club to life.”
Reflecting the Club’s evolution, the late Harrogate historian and Honorary Member of The Harrogate Club, Malcolm Neesam, once observed: “When I joined the Club, it was male-only and the conversation could be terrible.
"The quality has improved immeasurably since females joined!” - a sentiment very much in evidence as members came together to celebrate both tradition and progress.
One of the last traditional private members’ clubs of its kind in Yorkshire, the Club continues to evolve.
Since last year, its officers – President, Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer – have all been women for the first time in its 169-year-old history.
Once one of the most famous clubs in Britain, from the late 19th century to the First World War this Harrogate institution attracted the great and good, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the odd British military general.
At its lowest ebb in the 1990s, membership fell to just 70.
After years of decline and neglect, work to restore this magnificent building with its two great curved bay windows began in the early 2010s under then Club President Andrew MacMillan.
The Club’s fine woodwork and painted glass is now looking back to its Victorian glory days in much of the venue.
The last decade has seen it successfully expand its membership both in number and, crucially, beyond its historic ‘gentlemen only’ origins.