{{Short description|Public garden in North Yorkshire, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Use British English|date=July 2020}} {{Infobox park | name = RHS Garden Harlow Carr | image = Harlow Carr Entrance.jpg | image_size = | image_caption = The entrance to Harlow Carr Gardens | map = North Yorkshire | map_caption = Location in North Yorkshire | type = Garden | location = Crag Lane, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England | coordinates = {{coord|53|58|56|N|1|34|21|W|display=inline,title|region:GB_type:landmark}} | grid_ref_UK = SE2754 | area = {{Convert|23.4|ha|acre}} | created = {{Start date|1946}} | founder = Northern Horticultural Society | operator = Royal Horticultural Society | visitation_num = 527,274 (2025)<ref name="ALVA">{{cite web |title=ALVA – Association of Leading Visitor Attractions |url=https://www.alva.org.uk/details.cfm?p=423 |website=www.alva.org.uk |accessdate=20 March 2026}}</ref> | status = | open = }} '''RHS Garden Harlow Carr''' is one of five public gardens run by the Royal Horticultural Society. It is located on the western edge of Harrogate in the English county of North Yorkshire.
The RHS acquired Harlow Carr through its merger with the Northern Horticultural Society in 2001. It had been the Northern Horticultural Society's trial ground and display garden since they bought it in 1946.
==History== thumb|Harlow Carr gardens|upright Springs of sulphur water were discovered on the site in the 18th century but development of the site as a spa 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.<ref name=history /> People were charged two shillings and six pence (nominally 12{{frac|1|2}} p but about £{{Format price|{{Inflation|UK|0.125|1840}}}} at current prices) to bathe in the warm waters.{{citation needed|date=May 2019}} The gardens were laid out around the bath house and in 1861 the site at Harlow Carr springs was described as:
{{Quote|a sweet secluded spot{{nbsp}}... the grounds neatly laid out, adorned with a selection of trees, shrubs, flowers, walks, easy seats and shady arbours.{{citation needed|date=May 2019}} }}
The hotel later became the Harrogate Arms but closed in 2013.
The Northern Horticultural Society was founded in 1946 with the objective of: {{Quote|promoting and developing the science, art and practice of horticulture with special reference to the conditions pertaining to the North of England.}}
The society leased {{convert|10.5|ha}} of mixed woodland, pasture and arable land at Harlow Hill from the Harrogate Corporation and it opened the Harlow Carr Botanical Gardens in 1950.<ref name=history>{{cite web| url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/harlow-carr/about-harlow-carr/history-of-harlow-carr | title=The story of RHS Garden Harlow Carr | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | accessdate= 16 May 2019}}</ref> 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 {{convert|23.4|ha|abbr=on}}.<ref name=history />
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.<ref name=RHS/>
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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Visit the Library at RHS Garden Harlow Carr, North Yorkshire |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/education-learning/libraries-at-rhs/visit-the-libraries/harlow-carr-library |access-date=23 February 2021}}</ref>
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.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}
In 2021 the new Thaliana Bridge was installed across the Queen Mother's Lake with the design representing the sequence of an ''Arabidopsis thaliana'' chromosome. This was inspired by the work of the botanical scientist Rachel Leech.<ref name="Arabidopsis-bridge-2021">{{cite journal |title=Genome research inspires new bridge at Harlow Carr |journal=The Garden |date=2021 |issue=September 2021 |page=97}}</ref>
Geoffrey Smith, writer and broadcaster, was Superintendent of Harlow Carr from 1954 to 1974.
==Location== The garden is situated on Crag Lane, off Otley Road (B6162) about a mile and a half from the centre of Harrogate. <ref name=RHS>{{cite web| url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/harlow-carr/Plan-your-visit | title=Plan your visit| publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | accessdate= 16 May 2019}}</ref>
==Features== ===Old Bath House=== thumb|right|The Old Bath House The Old Bath House was built in 1844 as the Harlow Carr Sulphur Spa.<ref name="nhle">{{NHLE |num= 1149474|desc= Offices of the Northern Horticultural Society, Harrogate|access-date= 16 November 2024}}</ref> The spa closed in 1922 and the building was converted into offices for the Northern Horticultural Society. More recently, it has been used as an exhibition and events space for the gardens.<ref name="finan">{{cite news |last1=Finan |first1=Victoria |title=The Harrogate Arms Café: A unique 'pot-to-plate' experience at RHS Harlow Carr's new café |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/lifestyle/food-and-drink/the-harrogate-arms-cafe-a-unique-pot-to-plate-experience-at-rhs-harlow-carrs-new-cafe-4603371 |access-date=18 November 2024 |work=Yorkshire Post |date=25 April 2024}}</ref> The building is built of gritstone with projecting eaves and a hipped slate roof. It has one storey and six bays. The outer bays contain doorways, and in the inner bays are recessed windows with chamfered surrounds, two or three lights and hood moulds. It is a grade II listed building.<ref name="nhle" />
===Harrogate Arms=== thumb|right|The Harrogate Arms The Harrogate Arms was built in about 1844, as a hotel for visitors to the spa, with ten bedrooms. It became the Crag Bar in the 1970s, and later a Thai restaurant, but was then disused for more than a decade. It was purchased by the RHS, and converted into a cafe, which opened in 2024.<ref name="finan" /> It is constructed of gritstone, with string courses, and a slate roof with coped gables and finials. It has two storeys and three bays, the outer bays projecting and gabled. In the centre is a gabled porch, and an arched doorway with a fanlight and a hood mould. The outer bays contain splayed bay windows with embattled parapets. In the upper floor are recessed mullioned and transomed windows with chamfered surrounds and hood moulds, containing casements, and in the gables are blind lancets. It is grade II listed.<ref>{{NHLE |num= 1294137|desc= Harrogate Arms Hotel, Harrogate|access-date= 16 November 2024}}</ref>
===Other 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<ref name=RHS/> Bettys Cafe Tea Rooms.<ref> {{cite web |url = http://www.bettys.co.uk/bettys_harlow_carr.aspx |title = Bettys at RHS Garden Harlow Carr |publisher = Bettys Online |accessdate = 2011-03-12 |url-status = dead |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110706094940/http://www.bettys.co.uk/bettys_harlow_carr.aspx |archivedate = 2011-07-06 }} </ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|RHS Garden Harlow Carr}} * [http://www.rhs.org.uk/Gardens/Harlow-Carr Official website]
{{Royal Horticultural Society}} {{Authority control}}
Harlow Carr Category:Botanical gardens in Yorkshire Category:Gardens in North Yorkshire Category:Tourist attractions in Harrogate