Ripon Spa Baths

Ripon is a small cathedral city in North Yorkshire, located around 12 mi north of the larger settlement of Harrogate, a traditional spa town. There was some interest in providing a public bathing facility in Ripon in the late 19th century and this was the first campaign of the local Women's Institute. The cathedral paid to construct 20 changing cubicles on the banks of the River Ure in 1890 but campaigning continued for an indoor facility. Unlike Harrogate, Ripon was poorly served by natural springs, having only two of note that provided small quantities of water, insufficient to supply a spa facility.

Construction of the spa was begun by Ripon Borough Council in 1904, with the foundation stone being laid to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the granting of a royal charter by James VI and I. The structure was designed by Samuel Stead and was completed in 1905. Water was pumped to the site through a 4 mi pipeline from a sulphur-rich spring at Aldfield. According to Ripon Borough Council it is the only spa in the country to have been opened by a member of the royal family. It was the last traditional spa to open in Britain and struggled to make an impact in a market already saturated by other spa towns. Ripon Spa suffered particularly from competition from large facilities available at…