Harrogate Town F.C.

Harrogate Town Association Football Club is an English semi-professional association football club based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. The club was founded in 1914 and currently competes in the National League North.

History

The club was founded as Harrogate AFC in 1914. Previously the town of Harrogate had tried to put together a football team as far back as 1907 but nothing emerged until 1914. They were entered into the Northern League upon their year of founding, and were set to play their home fixtures at the County Ground. However, due to the First World War all fixtures were postponed.

After the First World War ended, a meeting was held around the idea of putting the club back together. A man named Robert Ackrill Breare instigated this, and he later became the Secretary of the club. Harrogate were entered into the West Riding League.

Early years

Harrogate AFC finally played in their first competitive fixture on 30 August 1919 at Starbeck Lane Ground against Horsforth FC. They won the game 1–0 and the scorer was L. Craven with a headed goal. They were entered into the FA Cup the same year. Harrogate also won their first trophy; the Whitworth Cup with a 4–0 victory against Ripon City.

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.