Royal Pump Room Museum,
Crown Place,
Harrogate,
North Yorkshire

The Pump Rooms in Harrogate houses collections telling the story of Harrogate's famous spa town history. This Museum is one of the best attractions to visit in the town. The history of the Pump Room springs date back to when a gentleman named William Slingsby took a sip from a natural spring and discovered the strange sulphur taste mainly attributed to the springs in Europe. Later a doctor by the name of Tim Bright promoted the spring water as a medical healer to many an ailment. Soon many people flocked to the area near Knaresborough and a new town was built known as it is today, Harrogate. The popularity of the town grew and the history of the pump rooms is celebrated today in the museum.

One of the attractions on display is of the doomed princess Alexandra of Hesse who married the Czar of Russia. She visited the town and became god mother to a set of twins born in Harrogate. She famously kept in touch with her god children right up until the point of when her head was chopped of in 1918 by the Bolsheviks.

As well as many other interesting displays housed in the Pump Room museum including period toys, costumes and household items, no visit would be complete without a complimentary drink of the famous spa water taken from two of the original wells.