One Street 1

Thought I would have a go at the One Street Challenge, which I know started a while ago and I just kept forgetting to do it! So here goes.

Cold Bath Road

This is the beginning of a long road leading from Low Harrogate up to Otley Road and an area known as Harlow Hill. The road is not really the main road in Harrogate, but does have a long history.

The road is named after the Cold Bath which was situated at the top of the road and is the oldest known bath in Harrogate. The spring supplying the water was called St Mungo, or St Magnus Well. Apparently St Mungo, a Scottish Saint driven by persecution from Glasgow in the 6th Century stopped here on his way to Wales and left his name to the well. The Visitor's Handbook of 1840 mentions the Cold Baths having a range of plunge, shower and 'spouting' baths. Sadly the Cold Bath doesn't exist today.

The White Hart Hotel was built in 1846 in a 'neoclassical' style. The name "White Hart" is ancient and comes from the time when large tracts of England were covered with forests, owned by the King and used for the Royal Hunt. It was at one time an important stop on the coaching routes which linked Harrogate to the rest of the country.

As the Victorian age progressed, Harrogate benefitted from the new science of hydrotherapy and mass transportation of the railways. More and more visitors arrived, whose principal attraction (Royal Pump Rooms) was overlooked by the White Hart. These booming times caused the White Hart owners to undertake a major scheme of rebuilding and in 1847 a new structure arose on the old site. According to the distinguished architectural critic Professor Nikolaus Pevsner the rebuilt White Hart was "the best building in Harrogate" with "nothing gaudy or showy about it"

Today it is still a popular hotel with many visitors as it is in a very convenient spot. Recently it has opened the 'Badgers Bar' as a popular late evening spot.