Old Swan Hotel
Encyclopedia
The Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate
, North Yorkshire
, England
is currently part of the Classic Lodges group.
In the late nineteenth century it was extensively redeveloped by the "Harrogate Hydropathic Company" as a fashionable spa hotel, and included Turkish Baths.
Its name was "The Harrogate Hydro" or as the locals called it "The Hydro".
It had its own farm on Penny Pot Lane to provide for the kitchens.
It was the first building in Harrogate to have electric light. A vertical steam engine drove a DC generator and also the hotel laundry. The steam engine was re-activated
to drive the laundry by Jack Gill of John Redfearn's garage at the hotel in the 1950s until electric motors took over. The boiler man was called Harry Dibnah(?) The fuel was coke from Harrogate
Gas Works.
In 1939 the hotel was "requisitioned" at 48 hours notice by The Ministry of Aircraft Production and cables were laid to a new telephone exchange in the Library Restaurant. Power cables were laid directly
from the hotel to the corporation power station beside Jenny Plain passing in a straight line through every private property on the way! It was attacked by an enemy aircraft in 1943 but only the house at the
end of Swan Road by Ripon Road was destroyed.
By the mid 1950s Harrogate had an image problem. The "Bath Chair" image of Victorian Spa towns was now unfashionable and the Hydro was re-named "The Old Swan Hotel" "famous since 1700"
It was listed in 1975 as a Grade II listed building.
In the early 1980s, the hotel was a focal point of the Harrogate International Festival Of Sound - an annual festival of premium hi-fi equipment.
It was recently refurbished, and has 136 rooms.
suddenly disappeared from her home. She was missing for a total of eleven days, during which the police conducted a major manhunt, and there was speculation that she had committed suicide. The disappearance even drew other crime writers Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Dorothy L Sayers into the search, Conan Doyle's interest in the occult
prompting to take one of Christie's gloves to a medium
. After a period of about ten days (having checked into the Swan Hydropathic Hotel under the assumed name Mrs. Teresa Neele) she was recognised by one of the banjo players at the hotel.
Harrogate
Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th...
, North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
is currently part of the Classic Lodges group.
History
Hospitality has been available on the site since at least 1777, originally it was the 'Swan Inn" in Low Harrogate separate from the settlement of High Harrogate.In the late nineteenth century it was extensively redeveloped by the "Harrogate Hydropathic Company" as a fashionable spa hotel, and included Turkish Baths.
Its name was "The Harrogate Hydro" or as the locals called it "The Hydro".
It had its own farm on Penny Pot Lane to provide for the kitchens.
It was the first building in Harrogate to have electric light. A vertical steam engine drove a DC generator and also the hotel laundry. The steam engine was re-activated
to drive the laundry by Jack Gill of John Redfearn's garage at the hotel in the 1950s until electric motors took over. The boiler man was called Harry Dibnah(?) The fuel was coke from Harrogate
Gas Works.
In 1939 the hotel was "requisitioned" at 48 hours notice by The Ministry of Aircraft Production and cables were laid to a new telephone exchange in the Library Restaurant. Power cables were laid directly
from the hotel to the corporation power station beside Jenny Plain passing in a straight line through every private property on the way! It was attacked by an enemy aircraft in 1943 but only the house at the
end of Swan Road by Ripon Road was destroyed.
By the mid 1950s Harrogate had an image problem. The "Bath Chair" image of Victorian Spa towns was now unfashionable and the Hydro was re-named "The Old Swan Hotel" "famous since 1700"
It was listed in 1975 as a Grade II listed building.
In the early 1980s, the hotel was a focal point of the Harrogate International Festival Of Sound - an annual festival of premium hi-fi equipment.
It was recently refurbished, and has 136 rooms.
Agatha Christie's disappearance
In December 1926 the author Agatha ChristieAgatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
suddenly disappeared from her home. She was missing for a total of eleven days, during which the police conducted a major manhunt, and there was speculation that she had committed suicide. The disappearance even drew other crime writers Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Dorothy L Sayers into the search, Conan Doyle's interest in the occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
prompting to take one of Christie's gloves to a medium
Mediumship
Mediumship is described as a form of communication with spirits. It is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Voodoo and Umbanda.- Concept :...
. After a period of about ten days (having checked into the Swan Hydropathic Hotel under the assumed name Mrs. Teresa Neele) she was recognised by one of the banjo players at the hotel.