Royal Pump Room Museum
📍 Crown Place, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG1 2RY
About Royal Pump Room Museum
Description
Visit the strongest sulphur wells in Europe, where over 15,000 people used to come every summer.
Discover Harrogate's connection to Russian royalty and what politicians and famous writers of the 19th and 20th century thought of their visits. Charles Dickens described Harrogate as the queerest place with the strangest people leading the oddest lives!
Stroll past the museum's displays of old-fashioned shops, a hotel and Harrogate's famous park, the Stray, to explore life in bygone Harrogate.
Marvel at our Egyptian treasures and discover how science is helping us find out more about them.
Royal Pump Room Museum history:
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. The museum has a changing temporary exhibition programme and permanent displays of Harrogate’s spa-history.
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📍 Crown Place, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG1 2RY
from 713 reviews
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Showing 5 of 713 reviews from Google Maps.Last updated 4 February 2026.
Very informative albeit a bit on the small side , but you can see that before entering the building because you can walk completely around the outside in a couple of minutes 🤷🏼♂️. Was a bit disappointed that you don't actually go down into the basement where the well is. But as I said it is educational and worth the £4.20 entrance fee 👍🏻😁
Great little museum beautiful stuff to look at and staff nice(if one did insult me). Don't drink the water it tastes like it smells. But if you're brave give it a go I did
Walked past with a friend of ours who was telling us of the history of this place and the area as he grew up here with his parents. There used ot be a proper hand pump outside the museum. There's a spot outside with a button which you can press and a spout which still does pump water out with a delayed reaction though. Be careful not to stand too close as the water does come out and it does smell a tad of the sulphur which isn't that pleasant. Didn't go into the museum as we were just wondering around town. Recommend coming to check it out. Don't think it's too expensive to go in. It's right by the variety gardens.
Interesting small exhibition about the story of the Spa town Harrogate!
The Royal Pump Room Museum is quite a small museum, interesting learning about all the many different springs that are in Harrogate and how people used to use them for different medical things. You wont need more than an hour at this museum so its handy for a quick visit while your in Harrogate.