RHS Garden Harlow Carr is one of five public gardens run by the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

. It is located on the western edge of

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...

in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

. The RHS acquired Harlow Carr through its merger with the

Northern Horticultural Society Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

in 2001. It had been the Northern Horticultural Society's trial ground and display garden since they bought it in 1946.

Location

The garden is situated on Crag Lane, off Otley Road (B6162) about a mile and a half from the centre of Harrogate.

Features

Harlow Carr has: * Winter Walk * Kitchen Garden * Gardens through Time * The Queen Mother’s Lake * Woodland * Streamside * Wildflower meadow and bird hide * Arboretum * Humus-rich terraces * Winter Garden * Scented Garden * Foliage Garden * Annual and perennial displays * Ornamental Grasses border * Alpine House * Learning Centre *Library It also has a shop, plant centre and Bettys Cafe Tea Rooms.

History

Springs of

sulphur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...

water were discovered on the site in the 18th century but development of the site as a

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...

did not take place for over a hundred years. In 1840, the owner of the estate, Henry Wright, cleaned out and protected one of the wells and four years later built a hotel and a

bath house Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...

. People were charged two shillings and six pence (nominally 12 p but about £ at current prices) to bathe in the warm waters. The gardens were laid out around the bath house and in 1861 the site at Harlow Carr springs was described as: The hotel later became the Harrogate Arms but closed in 2013. The Northern Horticultural Society was founded in 1946 with the objective of: The society leased of mixed woodland, pasture and arable land at Harlow Hill from the Harrogate Corporation and it opened the Harlow Carr Botanical Gardens in 1950. The chief aim of the venture was to set up a trial ground where the suitability of plants for growing in northern climates could be assessed. The original area has been extended to . The bath house was converted in 1958 to contain the library and study centre. More recently it has been used as an exhibition space for arts and crafts. The six well heads in front of the bath house have been capped off but remain beneath the present Limestone Rock Garden. At times there is a smell of sulphur in this area. A new learning centre was built in 2010 containing classrooms for school visits and adult learning courses, and the library. The latter holds a range of gardening-related books, periodicals and DVDs which can be loaned to RHS members and accessed by any garden visitor. In 2014 the Harrogate Arms and the land surrounding it was acquired by the RHS with plans progressing to restore the building, create new gardens around it and reintroduce its links with the old bath house. In 2021 the new Thaliana Bridge was installed across the Queen Mother's Lake with the design representing the sequence of an ''

Arabidopsis thaliana ''Arabidopsis thaliana'', the thale cress, mouse-ear cress or arabidopsis, is a small flowering plant native to Eurasia and Africa. ''A. thaliana'' is considered a weed; it is found along the shoulders of roads and in disturbed land. A winter a ...

'' chromosome. This was inspired by the work of the botanical scientist

Rachel Leech Rachel Leech (3 June 1936 – 23 December 2017) was Professor of Plant Sciences at the University of York, UK. Her research focused on chloroplasts and she was a leader in the field of understanding their development and function. She was also on ...

. Geoffrey Smith, writer and broadcaster, was Superintendent of Harlow Carr from 1954 to 1974.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control

Harlow Carr Harlow is a large town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire and London, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the upper ...

Botanical gardens in Yorkshire Gardens in North Yorkshire Tourist attractions in Harrogate