Royal Pump Room

Harrogate's Royal Pump Room, built in 1842 and extended in 1913, stands opposite the entrance to the Valley Gardens. It is now a museum but originally it was where people came to drink sulphur water, pumped on site from the Old Sulphur Well, and to meet friends and socialise. 

Inside it has all been restored, after it closed as a spa during World War II. You can see the counter where water was served, and the original well head in the basement. 

I've been past the museum many times and never been in. I didn't have long enough there this time. There was more to see than I expected, so I might have to go back some time. I think they have changing exhibitions, and there were costume displays and dioramas showing the kind of hydrotherapy facilities that people used in the Royal Baths.

There are bottles of mineral water from the many springs and wells in the town. Nearby was a Bath chair, a common sight around Harrogate in the 19th century. These covered, wheeled chairs could be hired by visitors from a rank so that a bath chair man would push them to the various hotels and spa buildings. 

There is also a mock-up of one of the treatment benches from the Royal Baths. The bather lay on an inflated rubber bed on a wooden table. Water streamed from the jets overhead and the bather would be soaped, rinsed, massaged and have his or her joints manipulated by a bath attendant, with water going from warm to cold. There is still a fabulous Turkish Bath in Harrogate, with all its Victorian tiles and mahogany wood. It's quite an experience and really very relaxing, with different areas of varying heat and steam. When last I visited, a few years ago, you could still get a massage - fairly rough and bracing! I keep thinking I should try it again. It's rather wonderful.