The Royal Pump Room was built by Isaac Shutt in 1842 to provide shelter for the town’s affluent visitors as they took the famous waters. At its peak, each summer the Pump Room attracted 15,000 people. Among its most famous visitors was Tsarina Alexandra of Russia in 1911. The annexe was added in 1913 to cater for the expanding visitor numbers, and now houses the permanent exhibition and the museum shop. The Pump Room attracted fewer visitors after the Second World War and with the emergence of the National Health Service the ‘curing’ waters were not taken as frequently and eventually the doors were closed. On May 22nd 1953 the Royal Pump Room was reopened as a museum. The museum is operated by Harrogate Museums and Arts, Harrogate Borough Council. It has a changing temporary exhibition programme and permanent displays of Harrogate’s spa-history.

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