Harrogate Royal Pump Room Museum

Some of the best museums are those based around a town – we’ve seen some great ones in Nottingham and York for example. The Royal Pump Room Museum in Harrogate is small, but for the £4.40 entrance price it was a nice little place full of information about how the town developed following the springs, and the working people of the town.

In the fashionable Montpellier District, the museum is easy to find and also hosts the tourist information ‘centre’. There’s no parking as it’s right in amongst the pubs and shops, so either walk or bus to it while visiting other areas of the town.

The displays are a mix from video explanations with ‘characture’ images of the history, to display boards, and examples of historical pieces. These range from beautiful clothing to sedan chairs, different shop themed items, through to some of the cure and treatment equipment. 

There’s a real flavour of the types of shops and workers needed in the area during the years that people from across the country were swarming to Harrogate. You get to read about the different jobs, and see personal items that have been donated to the museum.

We’ve been to the Royal Baths in Bath before so it was interesting to find out how different or similar Harrogate was. There were so many springs with different ‘benefits’. People would start visiting for their cup of revolting water from 7am, and return through the day, up to 3 times depending on need.

As well as the spring water, there were other treatments. And not forgetting the Royal Baths themselves which now has a chinese restaurant in, along with the Turkish Baths where you can still get treatments if so inclined.

Outside you can see a tap which the spring water continues to come out of. It really does smell revolting, and with all the minerals and whatever else in it, I’m not sure I’d ever have drunk it (and that’s coming from somewhere that lives with quite minerally water that lots of people don’t like!).

The tour around the museum ends in the Octagonal building, where you can look down into the sulphur well dug out for the spring.

It’s a lovely little museum with plenty to see and learn about. It makes you understand more about how the town built up so fast thanks to the discovered springs.

Being right in the centre of town, it’s perfect to stop in for an hour, then heading to lunch or for some shopping.

For other days out in Yorkshire, check out my posts here.