Brown plaque № 27855

The former Queen Hotel. Tradition dates Harrogate's oldest hotel from 1687 when it was built as a coaching inn called the "Queen's Head" possibly after Catherine of Braganza, consort of Charles II, who received the revenues of the Forest of Knaresborough. It was rebuilt in its present form in 1855 and extended in 1961. The owner, John Dearlove, together with J. Dunn of the Granby and J. Shutt of the Swan was a prosecutor of Thackwray of the Queen Hotel, whose attempt in 1835 to divert the waters of the public sulphur spring led to a demand for better protection of the mineral springs. This was accomplished when, following three public meetings held here in November 1840, Parliament passed the Improvement Act of 1841. The costs of the Thackwray case were met by Dearlove, Benn and Shutt, whose public spirited action ensured the future of Harrogate. In 1951 the hotel became the regional headquarters for the National Health Service before reopening as a hotel in 1999.

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