Harrogate RUFC

Harrogate Rugby Union Football Club is an English rugby union team based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. The club runs three senior sides. The first team play in National League 2 North, the club's second team, Harrogate Georgians, play in the Yorkshire RFU Merit Premiership. and the third team play in the Yorkshire RFU 2 Central/North Merit League. The club also fields a ladies team (Harrogate Ladies) and ten junior teams (from ages 6 to 16).

History

The team was founded in 1871 as Harrogate Football Club, the same year as the Rugby Football Union and plated their first match on 16 December of that year. They moved to Dragon Fields in 1875 and then moved to their present location at Claro Road in 1896. In 1903 the club played Canada and two years later they won the Yorkshire Cup for the first time. In 1914 the club decides to concentrate on football and rugby union activities were split off into a new club called Harrogate Old Boys. In 1923 a club called Harrogate RUFC was formed and RUFC and Old Boys amalgamated in 1936 although it wasn't until 1945 that the merged club officially became known as Harrogate RUFC. In 1957 the club merged with Harrogate Georgians and the decision was taken to retain the Georgians name by naming the second XV Harrogate Georgians. When the leagues were formed in 1987 the club was placed in North 1. Subsequent promotions resulted in Harrogate joining the third tier for the 1994–95 season and they remained at that level for thirteen seasons. However, the club has been relegated twice and is playing in regional rugby for the first time in more than twenty years.

Harrogate

Coordinates: 53°59′28″N 1°32′20″W / 53.991°N 1.539°W / 53.991; -1.539

Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters and RHS Harlow Carr gardens. Nearby is the Yorkshire Dales national park and the Nidderdale AONB. Harrogate grew out of two smaller settlements, High Harrogate and Low Harrogate, in the 17th century. Since 2013, polls have consistently voted the town as "the happiest place to live" in Britain. In 2013 Harrogate was declared to be the third most romantic destination in the world, beating off rivals including Paris, Rome and Vienna.

Harrogate spa water contains iron, sulphur and common salt. The town became known as 'The English Spa' in the Georgian Era, after its waters were discovered in the 16th century. In the 17th and 18th centuries its 'chalybeate' waters (containing iron) were a popular health treatment, and the influx of wealthy but sickly visitors contributed significantly to the wealth of the town.

Borough of Harrogate

The Borough of Harrogate is a local government district and borough of North Yorkshire, England. Its council is based in the town of Harrogate, but it also includes surrounding towns and villages and almost all of the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is the most populous district of North Yorkshire. The district is part of the Leeds City Region.

The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, as a merger of the Masham and Wath rural districts, and part of Thirsk Rural District, from the North Riding of Yorkshire, along with the boroughs of Harrogate and the city of Ripon, the Knaresborough urban district, Nidderdale Rural District, Ripon and Pateley Bridge Rural District, part of Wetherby Rural District and part of Wharfedale Rural District, all in the West Riding of Yorkshire.

On 1 April 1996 the parishes of Nether Poppleton, Upper Poppleton, Hessay and Rufforth were transferred from the district to become part of the new York unitary authority. According to the 2001 census these parishes had a population of 5,169.

Harrogate (UK Parliament constituency)

Harrogate (/ˈhærəɡᵻt, -ˌɡeɪt/) was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. As with all constituencies, the constituency elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The constituency was renamed Harrogate and Knaresborough in 1997.

Constituency profile

An area with little unemployment, a relatively large retired population and large neighbourhoods of high house prices which, until former Chancellor Norman Lamont stood for the first time in the successor seat in The New Labour landslide general election in 1997 was part of a Conservative safe seat since 1910, Harrogate moved the way of other famous spa towns in England such as Bath by returning the Liberal Democrat MP Phil Willis.

Boundaries

1950-1983: The Municipal Borough of Harrogate, the Urban District of Knaresborough, and part of the Rural District of Nidderdale.

1983-1997: The Borough of Harrogate wards of Bilton, Claro, Duchy, East Central, Granby, Harlow, Knaresborough East, Knaresborough West, Marston Moor, Nether Poppleton, New Park, Ouseburn, Pannal, Spofforth, Starbeck, Upper Poppleton, Wedderburn, and West Central.