The Harrogate Club
The Harrogate Club is a private members' club, open to men and women, based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1857, it is located on Victoria Avenue, Harrogate.
History
The club was founded at the Gascoigne's Hotel, Harrogate in 1857 by a group of professional men. In 1885 the Club's Committee, with funds raised from the members, decided to construct a Club House, at an ultimate cost of £3,000. The Pateley Bridge and Nidderdale Herald reported that plans were approved by Harrogate Borough Council on 2 April 1885, and the Borough Surveyor certified the building on 17 April 1886, however the architect's name was not given. Since the plans were later found in possession of the architectural firm which was in the 1880s owned by architect Arthur Bown, of Harrogate, it has been concluded that Bown designed the building. The purpose-built Club House was opened on 25 March 1886 at 36 Victoria Avenue, Harrogate and has remained the Club's home ever since.The Club appointed its first female president, Fiona Movley MBE and its first female honorary secretary, Catherine Wormald on 23 April 2024.
Artefacts on display in the club house
The Club displays a number of marble busts and paintings from the Mercer Art Gallery under a 2016 agreement with Harrogate Borough Council, and other artefacts, which are shown to the public regularly as part of tours provided for Heritage Open Days.Membership
Membership is open to both men and women. Membership categories include, full membership, country membership and young members' membership. In return for an annual fee members are entitled to a number of benefits including the ability to entertain friends and guests, attendance at a programme of social events and admission to selected reciprocal clubs.Notable former members of The Harrogate Club include, Titus Salt, English industrialist and philanthropist; Samson Fox, Engineer, Industrialist and philanthropist; Cuthbert Broderick, British architect, as well as Ferdinand de Rothschild. The late Harrogate historian and writer Malcolm Neesam was an honorary member from the 1990s, and the club's dining room has been named after him: The Malcolm Neesam Dining Room.